Plea for My New Self
by Ynn
Summary: Virgil has been around a long time. A really long time. And at this time, he doesn't have the patience to deal with anything else. Hopefully, in his next life, he'll be a better person. Hopefully, in his next life, he can keep his boyfriend and not eat his roommate. Virgil's not feeling so great on those odds. But he's going to try anyway. He doesn't have anything else better to do
1. Hurricane

Virgil hated change. He liked having stability and responsibilities in his life to keep him grounded and stable. He didn't want to have to deal with any of the things he had to do to make a change, either. There were so many risks and things he couldn't predict. But this situation was arguably getting riskier by the day. He was sick of the cooperate grind, sick of putting up with heartless projects and self-righteous assholes just to fit in. He was ready to start over and he needed to do it now before it got even more problematic.

Virgil stared up at the tiled ceiling in his office and leaned back in his chair at his desk. It's all a grind, ultimately, since the world was terrible now. But this grind, in particular, he would probably have to pay penance for just for his own sanity's sake. The way things were going lately, he was surprised he hadn't snapped and killed half the floor, already. He sighed heavily and eyed the window in the door to his office to verify no one was coming.

Virgil loosened his black tie a little and unbuttoned the top button on his dress shirt and opened his blazer. He didn't feel like he was suffocating yet, but he sure needed to check out before something bad happened. He could feel the panic rising slowly as his mind traveled unintentionally to all the things he could do to make sure this particular company is dissolved and possibly even burned to the ground by the morning. And he knew he had to get out of here before things moved away from the realm of unwanted ideas to potential plans.

The answer to getting out of this predicament was obvious. Go back to college and pick something else to do with his life. Unfortunately, that was something he experienced a lot of trepidation about. His major would preferably something he could do on a contract basis from home or temporarily so he'd never have to deal with another stooge or middle manager for more than a few weeks in his new godforsaken life.

Virgil pulled up his computer browser and started researching potential majors. There wasn't a good selection of at-home or contract-basis jobs with high demand, but programming sounded good out of the few that did. He already had a leg up with computers. Maybe a minor in art. He needed to return quieter hobbies and his neighbors always hated when he played violin at 3 in the morning. He cringed at the memory of getting the cops called on him and worked on his resignation letter. He didn't particularly care if 'Samuel Fullerton' had trouble getting employed again, so he wrote what he really felt about this company, their predatory practices, and their environmental impact in his office.

Virgil was convinced he was soulless until he worked here for so long. Then he learned what soulless really meant. He no longer cared if the money was good, that the hours fit with his schedule, that his job was cushy with little needed interaction with other people on his part since it was mostly just finishing projects or handling resources and overhead. He didn't even care that his team was full of decent workers he might throw to the sharks by leaving like this. Today, if he managed to not try to cure his boss of idiocy through blood-letting, it would be a victory better than any 'goal met' at this damn job.

When Virgil had completed it, he had it released as a company-wide memo with an extremely satisfying click of the mouse. While it was being sent to the printer, he put on his coat and hat to be prepared to get the hell out of here. He grabbed the small succulent off his desk, which is an offensive thing to receive as an anniversary gift, but he still wasn't going to let it die. There was nothing else in here needed to be attended to, just other worthless things the company gave him or let him use. Virgil wasn't much one to mix his home and work life.

He slid the succulent on a desk that housed other plants as he walked to the meeting room his boss was in with the other upper-management this afternoon. Some closed-door hush-hush bull crap that was one of the many things he called out on his resignation letter. Virgil unceremoniously stomped right into the middle of the meeting, met with loud objections as he passed the other stooges around the meeting table. He slammed the resignation paper in front of his boss with a twisted grin. The kind that would have said 'I'm doing you a favor' if any of these people knew what he was really capable of, anyway.

"Fullerton, what is the meaning of this?" The old bastard cried, his face red with indigence and slamming his fist on the desk. Wow, what a stereotype. There's no way we wouldn't be first. The first-floor interns would cheer. Hecate, Virgil, get the fuck out of here.

"It means you suck, your heads are full of bullshit and hornets, and your green initiative is a joke. I'd say get fucked, but the hand up your ass making your mouth move is in the way," Virgil announced sourly and gave a sardonic salute. He turned and walked out the door while the old bastard screamed wildly about disrespect and never being employed in this field again, and his contemporaries accompanied him with some mindless rabble. He was confident he was doing the right thing as the upper-management's rambling shortened the fuse on his temper even more. Virgil stopped at the front desk and handed over his badge to the front-end Admin, the very patient lady who basically fielded everything that came into this company and probably already saw his memo.

"Sorry Nance, I pissed him the hell off. Here's my badge, I heard them call ahead for it while I was walking out. You want an apology cheesecake or something?" Virgil said and wiggled his phone open to the delivery app at her.

"Sammy, did you really have to do it so dramatically?" Nancy moaned slightly in defeat, shaking her head. She slid his badge off the upper rim of her desk and dropped in her inbox with a sigh.

"You know how bad they are. They'll listen to my criticisms and make it a better place, or they won't. You, on the other hand, have been nothing but wonderful and I will literally buy you an entire fancy cheesecake this second," Virgil said with humor. It was the least he could do since she'd now have to help find his replacement. Nancy blushed at him and slightly rolled her eyes.

"I mean, I think I'd rather take a coffee gift card since you won't be buying it for me anymore," Nancy said, a little bittersweetly. Virgil laughed casually and slid a $200 gift card across the desk at her. He actually just bought those with cash to refill his coffee app, since he didn't prefer to leave paper trails. But she didn't need to know that this was an unplanned escape route to prevent either mass murder and/or burning down the building. It was only by pure serendipity that he hadn't entered the new card into the app yet.

"I mean, that was already the plan, this is free I-pissed-off-your-boss dessert," Virgil said with an eyebrow wiggle. Nancy's eyes grew wide and shot up at him from looking at the gift card.

"Are… are you sure?" She stammered out.

"Nance, they treat you like shit and I can't find you a better job. I can get you a fancy $50 cheesecake for rilling them up. Or e-mail you a gift card if you're too worried about eating so much cheesecake you get sick. That's always a risk," Virgil said with a somewhat humorless chuckle.

"Don't you need the money until you get a new job?" Nancy asked with concern, holding the coffee gift card reverently.

"I've already got something lined up in Seattle," Virgil lied dismissively while watching people walk in. "No time limit on the offer, just text me what you want," Virgil said, shaking his phone at her again and backing away, trying to escape any further contact with people and to let her get back to her job. Nancy was nice, he really liked her, and she deserved a better goodbye, but he was already exhausted from not locking upper-management in that meeting room and letting them really have it. He just needed to get out of here.

He'd probably miss her. She was so sweet to him when he barely made it through the interview. He thought he would have to use his voice, but she picked him, anyway. He didn't want to have to use it, but he needed the money to eat since he had run out of liquid funds at the time. But that was decades ago at this point before cryptocurrency got big and he could use that to get food. Virgil was just working there for the habit of working and he wouldn't freak out when he made big donations or purchases at this point. Virgil dug a pair of sunglasses and a disposable allergy face mask out of his peacoat pocket and put them on, sliding his hands into his pocket to prepare himself for the sun.

Virgil stepped outside into the hot summer afternoon and walked around the alley on the east side of the building, towards the parking garage. Once he was out of the sun and en route to his sport, he looked for Deceit's contact number. That was his code name for immortals who needed new paperwork, but he just really liked it over his first name.

Virgil knew him before he got into that business. His given name was Augustus Duran, a long time ago and across the sea. He abhorred using it now since he despised every bastardization of it. Virgil once saw him attack somebody who called him 'Auggie'. He really rather seemed to like Deceit over any other chosen name, and he'd been through a few at this point.

He was always dramatic a dramatic bitch. That thought made Virgil smile, at least he had an excuse to talk to him again even if Deceit and him weren't on amicable terms. Deceit cooked up papers for life restarts and identity changes when you fucked up. He also defended any immortals who landed in any legal trouble. Virgil needed the paperwork to reset so he wouldn't end up in the second category. Virgil unlocked his door and sat in his car, giving the steering wheel a loving pat before dialing Deceit's legal office.

"You've reached the legal offices of Allister Hunter, this is Charlotte, how can we help you?" The phone line came up and he assumed this was his administrative assistant that answered.

"Hello, Charlotte, I need to speak to Mr. Hunter," Virgil said, cringing at himself for having to compel her. But this was the only way to get through and the literal code of conduct. At least it was when he became Sam in the first place, anyway.

"I'll connect you right away," She monotonously said after a pause and the phone transferred to some terrible and pitchy saxophone serenade. Anybody would torture someone by putting a probably good song that has a lot of high-end through crap phone line qualities was secretly a sadist or had no ears. And he knew which one Deceit was.

"You've reached Mr. Hunter, how may I represent you?" He said in a crooning voice.

"D, It's me, V," Virgil said nervously and adjusted his collar carefully, eying the parking garage around.

"Oh, Virgil! GL. What a pleasure. Are you in town?" Deceit asked eagerly.

"Oh, good, I wasn't sure. No, but I can be later. I need a restart. 19 with exemplary high school GPA and some extracurriculars, so I can apply to colleges. Took a year off to work some retail garbage store they'll never bother checking. Um… Chess club and some computer club or something. And maybe track. They like you to be rounded these days, right?" Virgil asked nervously, realizing he was rambling but couldn't really stop himself.

"They do. What's the name?" Deceit asked. He could hear him typing away through the phone. Deceit didn't seem to mind Virgil's nervous pace, nor did he even sound annoyed with him. That was a relief.

"Eris Virgil Tempest," Virgil said. "It's been long enough, right? I kind of want to go by my name again. Just a middle name will not out me or anything right?"

"Feeling very gothic, today?" Deceit asked with the smirk clear in his voice. "It seems extremely unlikely. It's been ages, darling,"

"Those kinds of names are popular again," Virgil explained defensively. "I miss them. John and Sam and James and Sarah, ugh, enough of those names, I can't take them anymore, D. Any kind of European mutt history is fine. Fully vaccinated and clean medical other than a broken leg or something as a kid is okay, whatever you've got that doesn't make me need a physical or inoculations. Oh, and my car registration needs handling," God, Virgil forgot how easy he was to talk to.

"Send me the VIN. The same gender?" Deceit clarified, clacking away.

"Yeah. Though I'll take a driver's license of both. You know I like to switch it up. Make the female one 23," Virgil responded. He was getting excited at this point and thought maybe it wouldn't hurt to pick up the papers in person. Deceit didn't seem mad at all. "I'll probably make it out there a few hours if I leave as soon as the sunset. We can catch up while shit goes through. How much do I owe you?" Deceit chortled after he asked. Oh, like evil bells. It was a wonderful and nostalgic sound.

"Dancing, 'drinks', and a few nights in, darling," Deceit purred. Virgil chuckled at the response and felt so extremely relieved that Deceit wasn't mad at him anymore. It sounded like he was the opposite.

"Still between lovers, D?" Virgil asked with wry humor.

"Yes, there are so many kind gentlemen who aren't just trying to use me lining up at my doorstep," Deceit said, bitterly. "But even if I did, I would still proposition my sire any time," Deceit cooed. Virgil blushed with a little embarrassment and guilt.

"D, you know I'll just be with you while I apply to colleges, right?" He asked awkwardly. He wasn't sure he was ready for a full rekindling. He was just hoping for a friendly exchange.

"Virgil. I could just hack the university here, near me, and put you on this fall semester if you tell me your major," Virgil's eyes widened. He wasn't sure universities still did admissions interviews, but anytime he could skip them, he'd want to take the bypass. "It's a very reputable school, dear, and we could rendezvous instead of you being a surly loner who does nothing but studies all semester," Deceit offered.

"Maybe I enjoy being a surly loner," Virgil muttered. He feared making the same mistakes with Deceit over again. Deceit laughed good-naturedly, though. Maybe it was worth giving a shot again. He was pretty tired of being alone. It sounded a little like Deceit was, too. "Yeah, saves me the effort. I could grab an apartment early that way,"

"Oh, no, dear, they make all freshman stay on campus. New rules with colleges in this state. For safety, ironically," Deceit said with sass and a twinge of irony.

"What, I have to deal with a dorm a year?" Virgil groaned and rubbed his face under his sunglasses.

"I could fake a disability for special dispensation," Deceit replied coolly.

"I, of all people, don't need to take disability resources," Virgil replied with a groan. "That would be maximum levels of fucked up. I just need my regular anxiety paperwork for testing. A year isn't that long. I'll get an apartment, anyway. You can't really be caught running around with a college kid. What are you supposed to be now, 50-something?" Virgil said with a dark laugh.

"I have an apartment for rendezvous, dear, you can keep your stuff there until you can move off-campus," Deceit said sweetly. That would be amazing. Not struggle with lining up off-the-radar storage while he got rid of the Sam identity.

"D, is there a reason you keep sweetening the deal for me?" Virgil asked suspiciously, though he was pretty certain he already knew why he was. Deceit's subtext was pretty clear. Virgil was just scared of taking that chance again and hoped he was wrong.

"Oh, is it not enough to miss you deeply? Is it not enough to want to be someone like me who isn't an idiot making a mistake so bad that they got caught? I can let bygones be bygones if you'll let me," Deceit asked, the strain evident in his voice. Damnit, Virgil wasn't wrong. But Deceit seemed like he might want this too. If Deceit was willing to try then so could he.

"Sorry, love," Virgil murmured, feeling ashamed all over again. Virgil sighed. "Listen, how about I arrange for moving soon and we spend the rest of the summer together? I've missed you, too. We'll… uh, figure out the whole… situation with me returning," Virgil offered guiltily. "Maybe we can work something out together,"

"Wonderful! What's your major, dear? As soon as the servers reset and update, I'd like to get you registered. That way you can get better housing arrangements. The older ones have dreadfully thin walls," Deceit said, the cheer ringing in his voice.

"Programming with a minor in art," Virgil said. "If I have to look at another projection spreadsheet I may snap," Virgil added bitterly. "Wait, can I play in your apartment?"

"Perhaps during certain hours, but some people perform in parks and such these days," Deceit said, placating, but the humor was evident. He knew Virgil wouldn't do that and was just picking on him.

"You know I don't want an audience!" Virgil said and ran his hand through his hair on the back of his head. He was a little flustered that Deceit had already fallen back into their routine. Maybe this was something Deceit had been thinking about before Virgil called. Maybe he was even hoping for this. That would have warmed Virgil's heart if he had one.

"You won't be able to play your babies in the dorms at all," Deceit said with a little ringing laugh. Virgil groaned and squeezed the steering wheel. He cursed his own musical proclivities.

"I get it, life is suffering. Is there a supplier out there at the school you know of?" Virgil said and nervously scanned the alleyway again to make sure he was alone again.

"The supplier is spotty, but yes," Deceit said, sounding very displeased. They might have had some history from Deceit's tone.

"All of those pricks are either spotty or sketchy," Virgil said with disappointment. He'll get one of those giant super coolers and buy as much as he can before leaving. "I'll leave tomorrow instead so I can line up some extra, just in case," Virgil said.

"Love you," Deceit cooed with a musical hum of pleasure.

"Love you too," Virgil returned his affection. "And, um, sorry I left for so long," He mumbled and hung up. He pocketed his phone and pulled out his car keys. He needed to drive to the nearest packing store to ransack for any high-grade packing material before he went home. This part was all old hat at this point. But seeing Deceit again was something worth looking forward to.

After a few hours of packing, Virgil had loaded everything he could into boxes and shut them into his bedroom. He would have some internet weirdos come to take any furniture or things he didn't want, and then he'd just pay someone to haul the rest off to some consignment store or something. He wouldn't be needing a TV or a couch and they were very replaceable. His antiques, first editions, collector's items, his instruments? All very hard to replace. The artisans who made them were long dead. The techniques sometimes even lost. He wasn't letting a soul even look at them. Before the first free online listing weirdo said they would arrive, Virgil called up his connection, sitting on the floor of his apartment living room near the front doorway to keep an ear out for visitors.

"Hey, Dave, bud, how much you got on hand and how much are you willing to part with?" Virgil asked as nonchalantly as possible, trying not to piss him off since he knew he hated it when Virgil tried to buy more than is usual.

"What are you talking about?" Dave asked in mild annoyance.

"I'm moving and I need as much as you'll give me," Virgil replied evenly.

"You can't just up and move on me!" Dave cried in indignation.

"You'll find I can. Do you want the sale or not? I don't have to order with you at all, you know," Virgil said with agitation, giving up the pretense of niceties and growing tense.

"God! Fine, I can get you 12 units with plasma, but there's a bulk fee," He said briskly.

"Oh, funny, I seem to have found Armitage's number," Virgil threatened him off-handedly with his competition in the area. He brushed his brown bangs out of his eyes and straightened up against the wall.

"You're such a fucking prick, Sam," He said angrily. "I do really have a bulk fee for transportation costs!"

"I can pick it up," Virgil said. "Leave the back window unlocked," Virgil said, the humor evident in his voice.

"How the fuck do you know where I live?" Dave asked quickly, sounding even more enraged.

"I suspect I'm not the only one, and you really shouldn't try to fuck over people who know where you live, just a tip," Virgil said. "I'll pay your regular rates and transport it myself. I'll throw in the cost of a few extra units for buying you out of plasma units. Less skin off your back and now you know that you should probably consider moving and not driving straight back home after a delivery." Virgil warned bitterly, rolling his eyes. "Not all of your clients are sick people but we're happy to fight for them not getting overcharged for stupid reasons like a fee for using a bigger cooler you already own, in the van you already use," Virgil said with annoyance.

"I'm so fucking glad you're moving," He groaned. "3 AM, back window unlocked. I will be home so don't try anything,"

"Funny, you'd think that's something I would tell you," Virgil said with a little growl.

"I mean it, I found silver bullets," Dave tried to threaten him, but Virgil wasn't having that.

"You know, business tip, most customers don't come back when you threaten them," Virgil said with a louder groan. "I have to go," He said and hung up without waiting for what was sure to be an impending insult. Virgil loosened his tie further and rolled up his sleeves. He sat on his floor near the entrance of his apartment and scrolled Tumblr on his phone while he waited for people to come to ransack his stuff for free.

Virgil was en route to Deceit's apartment with a rental moving truck early the next morning. He had a giant cooler of dry ice with the A/C on blast next to him in the cab and his car towed behind him. He hated driving long distances; it made him a little disoriented about his location. But he also always hated people touching his antiques and genuinely didn't want to let people know he even had them. So he opted to haul it all himself, rather than someone scratching his baby grand or dropping a box with delicates. But driving this long was dull. He could enjoy music, at least. His gloved hands tapped the wheel to the beat of the song, humming a harmony along with the tune.

He was really looking forward to seeing Deceit again, even if he hated all these sudden upheavals in his life. It was like trading one constant for another. Deceit was a constant he relished. But there were struggles with being near him. Things that would be completely circumvented if he didn't have to be his sire along with his lover. Virgil wished idly that he could have just been born mortal with his boyfriend and lived a human life with him instead of this immortal blood-sucking monster bull shit.

Virgil hoped the drive time would pass with little incident, but all the same couldn't stop his brain from thinking all the ways that this venture could go mildly, terribly, or horribly, wrong. Like his antiques getting damaged somehow in the move. Or Deceit changes his mind about putting up with him and suddenly need needs to move everything all over again. Or worse, he hurts Deceit again. Deceit's hacking connection gets caught and they expel him. Virgil can't handle the humans on campus. The hook up could run out of blood. Virgil ends up being terrible at programming. Virgil ends up hating programming. Virgil gets outed and attacked. Another vampire on campus is territorial and attacks. If Virgil's had a heart, it would be pounding hard right now. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. But it was too late, now.


	2. Headlights

Virgil found himself pleasantly surprised that Deceit's 'rendezvous' apartment was very spacious for someplace Deceit claimed he used for hookups. The apartment was in a high-end gated complex and was a 3 bedroom townhouse-style with a garage. It shared some walls, but they were pretty thick. Deceit let him take one of the bedrooms as his own, but he said that as long as he kept things out of the only bedroom with a bed, He could place his wherever. Deceit had a house where he normally spent his time and kept his things, which might have been why he didn't care much about his apartment. One room here also seemed to hold some of his storage, which was a little weird considering he had an entire estate. Probably hoarded antiques like Virgil had, but ones he didn't want his staff stumbling on or something. Deceit was always much more of a collector and living history buff than Virgil was.

Moving his things inside while trying to stay out of the sun was a bitch. A strange guy moving into a high-end unit in the middle of the night was way too suspicious to pull off. Rich people were nosy, snooping motherfuckers who could not be trusted. So he settled on wearing an over-sized windbreaker and a giant hat. Virgil had to keep constantly slathering on sunscreen and he must have looked ridiculous in a jacket and gloves on a hot summer's day, but at least nobody would call the cops on a guy wearing a jacket in the summer. At least he hoped nobody would.

All of his things fit pretty easily into the apartment, and Deceit even purchased him a covered parking spot for his car. He loved his car so much and couldn't take parking it on campus around clumsy idiots who valued nothing that wasn't theirs. The idea haunted him and he wouldn't be able to focus if he was concerned about his classic getting all fucked up in the parking lot. Maybe he had control issues, but his car didn't need to pay the price for someone else's negligence. He didn't need to go off-campus in a way that a rideshare couldn't handle and long walks wasn't a problem for him.

Deceit had room in his dining room to place his baby grand, which was delightful. He stroked the smooth key cover and briefly wondered if he would get in trouble for playing it with the lid down right now. Maybe D would let him put up acoustic paneling or a sound shield between it and the shared wall. But probably he just needed to find out the non-quiet hours from Deceit, and he wouldn't have to bother with any of that.

It delighted Virgil to find a large wine fridge programmed to 4ºC in the kitchen that he could load his units into. It was empty before, so either D had finished all of his or he keeps his supply at home. Blood only stores so long before the bags don't have any value as food, so it wasn't reasonable to keep any here if he didn't visit much, It didn't seem like he did since there was a thin layer of dust over most of the apartment he'd have to clean.

Deceit would be at work for the rest of the day, so he started unpacking the things he would need into the dark oak wardrobe he'd ordered yesterday and had delivered earlier. Virgil had filled the walk-in closet with his valuables, so there was no room for clothes. Deceit already had the foresight to make every room have its own lock and key, including all the closets. A very smart move if you had hook-ups coming here, but also kept any apartment staff from snooping. Deceit left him a set of keys for most of the apartment but one of the walk-in closets in the master bedroom. He did always like to have his secrets.

Virgil focused on unpacking the things he'd be using until summer was over. Starting with clothes before they absorbed too much cardboard smell was a reasonable venture. It went smoothly since Virgil packed things carefully. However, after hanging his fifth dress shirt in the wardrobe, Virgil had a bad realization. He didn't have nearly any clothes for anyone that pretends to be anything under 30. He groaned and lightly smacked his head on the wardrobe, not wanting to damage it. He had a collection of rock shirts from shows and a few beat-up jeans, but it wasn't a wardrobe make. He needed a wardrobe update. Some new jeans, hoodies, shoes that weren't dressy, hats, maybe some new tops and feminine cut clothes. He could also use a backpack with a laptop slot instead of the stuffy briefcase kind he had. If he went to the mall, he could get all of that in one trip and check out the current fashions in a much less biased manner than any online research would portray.

Virgil riffled through one of his opened but not unpacked boxes and dug out his bag warmer. He went to go plug it in in the kitchen near the wine fridge. If Virgil had to go outside, he needed to feed first. He wasn't able to open the cooler on the drive over and decided it was better to wait till he got there. After he had prepared a bag, Virgil walked to the couch and flopped down to enjoy his nice 98-degree blood bag in the sleek, modern living room. He sat in a black leather couch with a low back with a chaise lounge and looked around. It was a classy place, one of those industrial style-designs with glass and stainless steel and lots of blacks. His eyes clouded briefly as he finished the bag off and leaned back.

He missed fresh blood. The reheated stuff always made him a little hazy for a moment. Most vampires think it's the anticoagulant or the fact that it's not fresh itself. You had to drink nearly double from a bag that you would a human. But Virgil didn't like to compel anymore if he could help it. Now that he could get it (mostly) humanely, it just made him feel gross about how many people he briefly took their agency from, even if he didn't kill most of them. It was the worst part of being a vampire in his opinion.

Deceit never seemed to mind it, though. Virgil got the impression he only did bagged for convenience and because Virgil was against it. He seemed to enjoy tricking people for blood. But Deceit also got to choose to get turned. Well, at first, anyway. Now wasn't the time to fret about that again, though. He got to go to the mall and pick out younger clothes, and more importantly, stuff he liked instead of the bland corporate bullshit his wardrobe slowly morphed to. Virgil enjoyed looking like he'd beat you up. It made him much less approachable. And Virgil was not a big fan of being approached. Virgil considered burning his suits for a moment and got up to go return the truck and head to the mall.

The sounds. And smells. Were overwhelming. Oh, dear Hecate. He forgot how dreadful malls were. He just wanted to hit the stores that had the styles he liked that he found online altogether. The food court smells turned his stomach, and it was so goddamn loud. Why does every store need to play a different station than the mall itself? His brain felt like it was shorting out trying to listen to too many songs at once. Virgil rushed as fast as would look human to an electronics store and purchased some high-end noise-canceling headphones. He could never wear them at the office. He normally wore earplugs like he was doing now. But his old workplace was relatively quiet, and he had his own office, so it hadn't been a problem for a long time. He could wear these headphones in between classes and all around campus with no issues. He had a feeling campus, especially the dorms, might be almost as bad as the mall.

Virgil didn't have his music player to plug it into, but just wearing it and turning it on to hear that weird counter pitch was significantly better than nothing. He didn't have to listen to so many songs at once and could focus on the task at hand again. Virgil tucked the cable end into his dress shirt pocket. He had just taken a decent chunk out of the cash he had on hand for this, so he might have to buy more clothes later. Once he had a new identity, that would be simple, though. He found some neat stuff online while trying to research options he wanted to buy either way.

Virgil veered into the nearest punk store and bought a nice selection of grunge goodness. Blacks and purples and reds and greens abound. The only pastel was ironic. There was a great selection of clothes and he found himself all over the story picking out a wide variety of clothes. Multiple new kinds of dark jeans, some neat distressed tees, a few cute skirts, a selection of fun tops with unnecessary zippers… It was a veritable cornucopia when he was lost in a sea of monotone button-downs and slacks for ages. He could pair some of this stuff with his button-downs, and suddenly they'd be less offensive. Fashion was amazing like that. He even found some ties he liked, which was surprising. He'd been wearing a plain black tie for decades now and thought he'd never want to look at a tie again.

Virgil revealed in the hoodie section, picking out a few extra big, thick hoodies black to wear. Virgil loved that barrier between him and other people, so nobody could feel how cold he was. Or see how strong he was. He also just enjoyed hiding behind them. Hoods and thick sleeves were a great way to stay out of sunlight without having to lug around an umbrella and get stared at. And he wouldn't look as old in a hoodie compared to his peacoat or trench-coat. He really, desperately, just wanted to be a normal college kid, even if he was just fooling himself. His favourite zipper hoodie off the rack by far was black with plaid purple sleeves and front pockets. He wore that one out of the store instead of his conspicuous trench coat, shoving that in the bag of clothes he walked out with.

Virgil's next task was the shoe store for some nice punk sneakers and some new combat boots. His old ones were falling apart. While Virgil was looking for a suitable pair of combat boots, he noticed that many of the people 'his age' seemed to have piercings. At least they did in the punk store and here, anyway. He wondered if he could find a vampire piercing technician nearby. He loved the idea of getting new ones. He had them back in the 70s and 80s. Kids also seemed to wear colored contacts more, though it wasn't super common. It would be wonderful to go without putting in those awful things that make his vision fuzzy every day. They'd be believable as contacts as long as he stayed fed.

Unnatural hair colors were also in. Purple sounded fun, just to make the eye color seem more intentional. He'd had this brown hair for a long time now and had done most of the natural colors under the sun at this point. The final thing that was popular seemed to be collections of pins. He really wasn't up to date on popular media other than a few TV shows, but there were a few generic looking ones he liked and grabbed to put on a laptop backpack he picked up at the same accessories store.

Virgil had blown most of everything he brought, but he swung by a coffee place to grab a drink before leaving. People carrying coffee everywhere was also popular, and that was a trend he could hop on. He couldn't have anything in it, but plain hot bean water was fine as long as he didn't over-indulge. He used to have about 2 a day as Sam as part of the businessman facade, but it seemed like caffeine addiction was the hot new way to deal with the overwhelming stresses of life for everybody.

Virgil got back to Deceit's apartment with all his new clothes a little later. He de-tagged everything he purchased and dumped it all in the washer. He could smell people who touched it and the chemicals in the factory, and it was driving him a little up the wall. Once he got away from the swimming hoards of people and got them in his car he had to put on a mask to deal with it. He'd need to swing by a pharmacy and pick up more earplugs and face masks later. He felt like he was out of the social energy required for going outside after the mall trip, though. He wished he could just send a driver, but he couldn't just make 'Sam' move here. That would raise too many red flags. He had trashed his apartment up a bit and left a suicide note. After 3 months was up and he hadn't paid rent, the landlord would find it and report him missing/dead.

Transferring most of the money slowly off of 'Sam' to offshore accounts or straight up laundering was enough of a pain in the ass. He was glad he kept most of his money liquid. He had sold off his stocks and withdrew them yesterday. It would help corroborate his 'couldn't find a job, ran out of money, and killed myself' story. Virgil had smashed a liquor bottle to be safe, though. Humans could blame almost anything on alcohol.

Once the laundry finished, he had changed into one of his new shirts and black fitted jeans instead of the professional clothes he wore all day under the trench coat. Virgil then skulked into the bathroom and took out those awful contacts and caught his eyes in the mirror. A dark purple glowed back at him as he both of his hands through his fluffy brown hair and shifted it to black in the black and sides with a purple top and fringe. He extended his nails to trim a little closer in the back and sides before he gave himself a lopsided smirk in the mirror. Hideous as usual, but he felt more like himself every second he was out of that corporate drone outfit. The purple looked kind of unearthly against his pallor. But, as it turns out, that's a look these days, too. What a time to be undead.

Virgil was resting on the chaise lounge when he felt the link reconnect. He was close enough to feel the edges of it all day. But when the full effects all hit, Virgil was so surprised he hit the ceiling. He landed there and sat dazed for a moment. Deceit must have been heading this way. His emotions, excitement, and relief overwhelmed Virgil and swirled in his chest with a hint of frustration. Virgil tried to focus deeply and gate himself off and put up a shield. It took extra energy to maintain those kinds of things, so he didn't bother keeping them up for just being around unlinked humans. His own relief and excitement mixed with Deceit's though, and he couldn't keep separate them easily. He'll just have to hold off. He was severely out of practice from shielding. If he had any sense, he would have raised it before the reconnect, but a small and very vocal part of him didn't want to.

Even if Virgil couldn't raise a shield, he could try to keep calm. He decided that focusing on not overwhelming Deceit while he was traveling was the best plan for now. He sat still on the ceiling and focused on staying even-keeled for the next few minutes while Deceit finished his trip. Deceit burst in and shut the door and re-locked it in less than a second, the excitement flowing off of him was palpable and he floated in.

"Virgil?" Deceit called, but his eyes shot up immediately, probably feeling his presence. Virgil tackled him from the ceiling before Deceit could even make a move, and they fell into kissing and stroking each other in seconds. They probably got caught up in a feedback loop or something, since this is not how you greet someone you haven't seen in decades, but Virgil was struggling to care about that now.

Deceit looked so similar to how he was before. He kept his dark little curls around his face. He was undisguised because the burn mark was prominent over his left eye, a reddened contrast to his pale olive-toned skin. His damaged eye had turned golden when it recovered, and when paired with a green eye on the right, he was just as strikingly enticing as the day Virgil met him. The outfit was newer though, Deceit had held back to more traditional fashion for a while, but he must have given in some time in the last few decades. He was in a black trench coat over a super-black suit with a yellow pinstriped tie, looking extremely dapper. He still wore the gloves that were popular long ago, even though that made the suit dated. But there was something about a pair of black leather gloves that was always attractive, and Deceit pulled them off.

It was pure heaven in Deceit's arms. The unfiltered emotions feeding into each other was almost like having a beating heart. He could feel them pulsing in his chest. He wasn't sure what was actually happening anymore in a haze and he realized he had already worked deceit out of his trench coat and gloves and Deceit already had him shirtless. It wasn't long until Deceit was on top of him on the couch.

"I've missed you, beloved," Deceit purred as he kissed and licked his way down Virgil's neck, then biting down. Virgil moaned and pulled Deceit in for another kiss.

"Don't you want to catch up first?" Virgil asked breathily, his hands sliding down Deceit's back, barely cognizant of what was happening, but just enough to realize that they were headed in a clear direction so far and this was moving way too moving fast considering the last time he saw him.

"Clearly," Deceit hissed sarcastically into Virgil's ear and the passionate emotions consumed him and let go of everything else.

Virgil came to his senses what appeared to be hours later, naked on Deceit's California king bed with golden silk sheets. The emotional feedback loop must have finally ebbed. Virgil groaned lightly, feeling his hand in Deceit's and as if he had just gotten out of a fight. They probably got a little extra passionate. They both healed fast, though. He glanced over at Deceit, who was laying next to him. He also healing up from a bit of 'battle damage'.

"We've got to put our shields back up love, or neither of us will do anything else for days if we get in another loop," Virgil said and ran his free hand through his hair and then shifted up on to his elbow to look Deceit in the eyes. Deceit met his eyes with a sweet smile.

"I'm not strictly opposed to that," Deceit said humorously and leaned up to stroke Virgil's face and kiss his forehead. "I've missed feeling you. I don't want to filter you just yet," He murmured affectionately. Virgil smiled and pulled Deceit closer.

"Well, we've got to put up filters eventually or we'll never leave for food, then," Virgil said with a little chuckle. Deceit returned his smile with a mischievous toothy smirk. "Oh, right, do you need some? I have your favourite AB-positive in the wine fridge," Virgil said and lovingly stroked Deceit's shiny black hair.

"Oh, are you sure you can handle me post-feeding, love?" Deceit said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"I can handle you mid-feeding if that's something you want," Virgil whispered into Deceit's ear and he shivered slightly. Excitement flared up in him. That was an enthusiastic 'yes'. Virgil hopped up to grab the bag out of the fridge and put it in the warmer. He passed what appeared to be a trail of 4 piece suit out of the bedroom and headed into the kitchen. He felt a lonely tinge. "For Hecate's sake, man, I'll be right back!" Virgil laughed and slid the bag in the warmer.

"You've been away for so long!" Deceit whined and laughed lightly with him. Virgil slid back next to him and held him close, gently kissing his neck and ear. Deceit nuzzled into his neck and reached around to stroke Virgil's hair. "I like the new color. It really brings out your entrancing eyes," Deceit breathed.

"Yeah, thank goodness for rebellious teens. I can stop with the contacts mostly, too," Virgil said with a chuckle. "When you reset, you could probably stop wearing the contacts around humans, too. You have the most strikingly beautiful eyes and it's a sin to hide them from the world," Virgil said and kissed Deceit's jaw. "Or you could just go out without glamour and come out with me as a rebellious kid sometimes," Virgil laughed. "I owe you some dancing, don't I?" Virgil breathed into his ear and Deceit latched on and kissed him again.

"I think I'd rather stay in with you today, but I will take you up on that offer once I get your IDs," Deceit agreed and the warmer in the kitchen dinged.

Virgil got up and pulled Deceit up with him, then deposited him on the couch as he went to go get Deceit's dinner. Virgil sat on top of him and gave him a deep kiss before holding the bag up to his lips and shifting to kiss his neck and gently claw down his arms. Satisfaction swelled deeply in his chest as Deceit blissed out as he ate. Deceit even pulled him up briefly for a kiss to share some blood. It was sweet and salty and overwhelmingly delicious to share. They were both lost in each other's emotions again after that.


	3. Tougher Than it is

Virgil was a little lonely when Deceit left the next morning for work. But he needed to focus on something else so he could work on shielding to filter one another. Deceit agreed that it was practical while he was at work even though he was reluctant. Virgil promised they could drop it again when he got home. Virgil had to work on building up a new identity from the remains of his old and Deceit had to be his lawyer self. They couldn't just keep necking 24/7. They'd end up in the same spiral that always happened when they had to separate the last few times.

The bitterness and disgust with himself helped him form a disconnect and put up a shield to filter Deceit's connection with him. It was still there, and he could still feel him, but they were more separate from himself and farther away. It also gave them a modicum of privacy which two grown adults with different agendas needed. Deceit should still be able to reach out over the shield to communicate if it was an emergency. Virgil gave it a quick test and reached out lightly, but there with no response. He sighed in relief.

Virgil took as hot a shower as Deceit's water heater allowed, which was pretty damn hot, and toweled off. He dug through his new wardrobe for a distressed tank top, his new favourite hoodie, and a pair of black skinny jeans. Once he got dressed he did a little more unpacking. The rest of his old clothes and his feminine wardrobe, some personal items like his spider dolls and toys, a big plush purple weighted blanket, his electric kettle, and the little tea collection. He would be here till summer was over, so he may as well enjoy his time. Virgil luckily brought some mugs, since he discovered that Deceit's kitchen cabinets were empty. He'll have to grab a little thing of dish soap when he hit up a pharmacy for the masks and earplugs. He brewed himself a strong earl gray and went back to 'his bedroom'.

Virgil sat on the floor next to an outlet and booted up his laptop. He headed to the vampire deep web to handle his affairs. After a few hours of illegal but covert transactions where he took some final steps to schedule the last of his wealth from Sam, Virgil let out a deep sigh. It would all finally in off shores accounts in a time frame long enough for his old self to 'go off the deep end' until he had his new identity to take some wealth as transfers from 'his parents' through some dummy bank accounts. He tried to make it look like Sam spent all his money on alcohol and other human necessities instead of transfers offshore, much like how he kept most of his income liquid but officially 'spent' on the books. Making your banking look human was really a pain. Thank Hecate for the Vampire deep web and vampires who fudged the digital money records for a living.

Restarting your life was stressful. All the more reason for piercings. He already 'dyed' his hair, and it wasn't enough to satisfy that 'mental breakdown time for a change' urge. Virgil checked the vampire service listings and didn't find anyone close, but there was a shop with night hours and vampire tech who would fit him in about 40 miles away. He was also willing to take cryptocurrency, which was a bonus.

The tech probably bought his blood online if he liked cryptocurrency. The delivery service required you to pay for the ridiculously expensive and slow courier service and have a house to deliver it to, so Virgil hadn't used it. It was relatively new, and he'd had an apartment since the part of downtown he as in was too big for houses and he didn't like long work commutes. To much sun risk. Deceit probably used it, though, his estate was certainly out of the way enough. That meant he had access to that bougie stuff. He wondered how much begging he'd have to do to try some designer types.

Virgil researched the local university for a bit since he had some downtime. There were hours to spare before it was dark enough to flit out to the shop. Damned long summer days. The campus was only about 20 miles from here. It would be outside the connection range, thankfully. He may feel strong twinges from Deceit from time to time, and if they both really focused, they could use the mental connection and talk without needing a phone, which was good. Virgil could just text him to listen up.

Virgil read on. Lovely campus, blah blah blah, more white kids smiling, more blah. Hecate, these things are mostly useless. Virgil researched more into what class requirements for his major at this school were instead. There was a lot involved when you counted all the core classes, which would be awful. It had been a while since he'd been, but it's not like he hadn't taken college core classes what felt like a million times before. For cheaper, too. Sure, he could get D to falsify him a degree, but he wouldn't have the knowledge.

Virgil also just liked school. Learning new things was fun. Mixing up his life in the workforce with some academia was a nice change. Virgil needed the stability of one of the other, or he'd go off the deep end. All the schedule and responsibility but you get a little more freedom in your schedule. Swapping between the two was a nice way to break up a very long life.

He could pick a new language for humanities credits, at least. He knew plenty of languages somewhere deep down, but he was actually only fluent in French these days, being the last country he and Deceit were in before they left for North America. He could take Spanish. He hadn't used it in so long, he'd nearly forgotten it. He and D left Spain so long ago that Virgil barely remembered any of it. Deceit still remembered it, though, and mumbled it under his breath from time to time while they were together. He doesn't have that I'm-so-old-my-memory-is-failing bullshit Virgil was stuck with. It'd be nice to get the gist of what Deceit was mumbling again other than his ears picking up random out-of-context words, even if they taught 'informal' Spanish and Deceit spoke 'formal' Spanish.

Virgil poked around on the website a little deeper to find what services they included in the tuition costs. He found lots of things for humans, minor health care, a certain amount of free meals, blah blah blah. Nothing was particularly interesting or useful for Virgil other than gym access and some social-club type credits where they teach you how to do rich kid hobbies. Virgil was mostly capable there, but there were some weird or new ones he could try.

Virgil went back to digging through course requirements and what each different class entailed, taking notes this time so when he scheduled classes he wouldn't have to get confused and freak out. It also seemed like a good idea to get a head start on some computer courses the first semester since the first class would be, quote, 'a boring nightmare'. Apparently information technologies was a massive snore fest and a waste of time according to student review sites. It sounded like he could study or do something else in that class while they, quote, 'explain that the CD drive isn't a coaster'.

Not having anything better to do at this point, he just started scrolling Tumblr. He wasn't used to not having something to do in the day. It was too bright to go out, D said he couldn't play his instruments during certain times and Virgil wasn't sure what those were yet. He'd handled his affairs for now since he had no identity to move them on to yet, and he really just had his laptop and himself. And nothing he could do on his computer seemed particularly appealing. He wanted to play his instruments more than anything.

Virgil could go pick up a quieter instrument. Otherwise he would go crazy on campus, Virgil wasn't sure, but he played at least every other day in living memory. His old apartment had thick enough walls that as long as he didn't play past 9pm, no one ever got mad at him. It was probably on him for loving instruments that peal through walls like butter. Acoustic guitar, maybe, for the summer? He'd played a wide variety of orchestral string instruments already. A more generically popular one could be better. He could take a ukulele with him to campus and play in the dorms, probably. He'd seen people talk online about 'ukulele-playing college kids being the scourge of indie coffee shops'. That could be a fun new hobby, he'd love to be a scourge. He'd have to hunt down an instrument center. He may as well do that now and head out to the pharmacy.

Virgil put on his new noise-canceling headphones and hooked it up to a music player under his hoodie, clipped to his tank top. Digging through his box of sundries, he pulled out a new black disposable face mask. He slipped it on under his headphones and put sunscreen over the rest of his face, then a pair of sunglasses. After shoes and pulling his hood down tight over his head, he left.

The drive to the nearest pharmacy was short. He had found a reusable cloth mask with inserts to change out instead of the disposable paper ones he had been using, and that could be cool to contribute slightly less to the waste fill. The rubber earplugs never fit his ear canal, though, so he just bought another 500 pack of foam ones and a trial size of dish soap. The checkout lane had little plush spider, and he couldn't resist that either. In the car, he replaced his mask with the new one and put the little spider in his pocket. Its name was Vladimir, and it was his new best friend. He pulled out his burner phone, and it felt like the shitty service took forever to load up a map to the music store. He played with Vladimir while it loaded.

The store, however, was worth the drive. Virgil about had a fit. There were so many instruments! He wanted them all! He had played with the keyboards for a while, able to use headphones with those, but he just felt like he was cheating on his baby grand after a while. Then he was distracted by a western xylophone and other bell kits. He had wandered deeper into the percussion section, distracted by fond memories and loud noises with every step. But when his eyes fell on a set of digital percussion pads that you could play on any surface, he was in love. He could bring these to the dorms. He could play on D's bed. Drum-sets were always too loud and too big to play at home, just like his other loves. He hadn't realized the electronic ones had come so far to have mesh pads but not need the frame. They still sounded slightly electronic and didn't feel like real drums, but he could play those wherever there was a soft enough surface. He wanted to learn how to play a drum set now, too. He knew how to play all the pieces separately from his various lifetimes in the orchestra but together was a whole new beast.

Virgil left with the drum set, a few sets of sticks, an acoustic guitar, a ukulele, and replacement strings. He had something to do with his life now other than play Minecraft 10 hours a day while D was out. He was so ecstatic he could barely take it. Deceit could probably feel it even through his shield. He was so excited to sit on Deceit's big bed and just smack the shit out of some drum pads after a quick video tutorial. He'd wished he didn't have to drive so he could get back to D's place faster.

Virgil was still beating out a tune on Deceit's bed when Deceit came in and crawled behind him and pulled him back into a hug. That shocked Virgil for a moment, not realizing Deceit had made it home yet. He quickly dropped his gear to properly greet Deceit with a deep, loving kiss.

"I see that no matter the trials, you will always return to music, my love," Deceit said and kissed his temple. Virgil squeezed Deceit's arm wrapped around him and smiled.

"It's in my soul, dearest," Virgil stated and angled his head up to kiss Deceit's cheek. "How was legal bullshit?" He asked.

"Fantastic after I felt how happy you were," Deceit said humorously. "You're nearly established, darling. I'll need another day and then you can start setting up accounts and all that mundane modern life shit," He said with a kiss to the forehead. I'll just need a photo for your male and female IDs and I can print them up," Deceit said. Virgil beamed back at him.

"You're the best, D," Virgil said and kissed him deeply. "Let's clear off my drums and let me show you how much I appreciate you," Virgil proposed between kisses and a light nibble on Deceit's neck. Virgil wasn't aware of anything else other than Deceit after he dropped his shield.

Deceit laid on top of Virgil's chest and they were silently enjoying each other's company while linked, feelings ebbing and flowing like the tide. It was so amazing to be linked to someone. Virgil had Deceit mail him the documents after a less spontaneous reset last time. He had turned no one else in a long time. He genuinely had forgotten how great it could feel. There was something so soul-satisfyingly wonderful about feeling someone else's joy. It was life-affirming. He had done nothing that made him feel like his life was worth it in so long. His phone distracted him with a chiming tone. Speaking of life-affirming…

"Oh, Deceit, I'm going to a piercer. You want to come with?" He asked as he rolled off the bed and slid back on his jeans and threw his hoodie on quickly.

"Of course, darling, I'm just a huge fan of needles," Deceit said sarcastically and stood up to dig through his drawers quickly for a pair of jeans and a shirt despite his objection.

"We'll re-shield before I go in the chair, love, you don't have to feel it. Though you would look amazing with some metal, love," Virgil said while yanking on his shoes.

"I'm a lawyer, dear, not a punk kid," Deceit said matter-of-factly while he tugged on a leather jacket and a pair of boots. Virgil chuckled.

"Could have fooled me." He said, looking at Deceit's casual outfit. "I've got a good idea where it is. It's to the east. I've been waiting to stretch my legs since that damned van ride. Can you keep up?" Virgil mocked him with a lilting laugh. Deceit pulled Virgil in for a rough kiss and the challenge blossomed in his chest and they left running into the night together.

Flitting through the air in on a summer night is one of the best things about being a vampire. It's still warm at night and the wind whooshing by smells so dry and earthen. The wind rushing past as you descend to launch off again was always Virgil's favourite part of flitting. Most other vampires he talked to said they liked the ascent, but Virgil loved the feeling of free fall. There was very little else that mattered while he was focusing on landing safely somewhere private. It was a quick reprieve from the stresses that often tormented him, rambling in his mind.

Virgil and Deceit started play fighting at the apex of their jumps after a few goading comments. They were pushing each other and swinging the other around, sometimes landing a punch or a kick. There were barks of laughter breaking through the still night air up in the sky as they bounded east together to fill Virgil's head with holes. They had landed on top of a building in a metropolitan area while Virgil was surveying the area, comparing it to the map he looked at from overhead.

"Looks close, I think it's just a few blocks north," Virgil said and gave Deceit a quick kiss before they jumped ahead and looked for an alley to walk out onto street level to enter the establishment.

Virgil and Deceit stepped into the parlor and waited for the tech. "Hey, it's V," He announced, just in case they the tech didn't notice them walking in. A tall man with long black locs and some seriously cool tattoos walked out from behind a curtain and motioned with his hand for them to come back. "Hey," Virgil said a little shyly and Deceit grabbed his hand.

"Hey, V, dude, are you sure about all these piercings? This isn't gonna be cheap," The tech said. "I'm Elijah, by the way," He said and waved to Deceit.

"Yeah, fuck me up, fam," Virgil said with a laugh. He was less uncomfortable meeting new vampires with Deceit there. "Hey, dude, will you show us a needle? D and I here need to get on different wavelengths real quick," Virgil said with humor in his voice while Deceit let out a little shutter. Elijah shot a look between the two of them.

"Shit, V, are you an Alpha?" He asked with trepidation.

"Yeah? Is that a problem?" Virgil asked, now also feeling worried.

"I mean, as long as your Blood there will help me it should be okay, my assistant isn't here today," Elijah said. Deceit bristled at the idea. "You just gotta help me hold the hole open, D," Elijah explained. Deceit shot a look to Virgil.

"Please, D?" Virgil pleaded. "This means a lot to me," Virgil looked to him, pleading with the best pout he could manage, squeezing his hand.

"Fine," Deceit said with a groan. "I expect to be rewarded heavily," He said, sounding a little peeved. Virgil pulled him close for a kiss that felt like it left Deceit feeling a little dazed.

"Of course, love, anything for you. I will give you any of the stars above," Virgil cooed.

"Show me the damn needle, Mr. Stabby," Deceit groaned while he rolled his eyes with a slight blush. Virgil got excited while Deceit bristled again and they could shield successfully. Virgil unzipped his jacket and laid back on the chair.

"I will start low and work my way up. The hardest ones by far will be the collar bones, so I hope you fed your Blood recently," Elijah said and put on a pair of gloves and pointed Deceit to the sink and the box of gloves next to it. Elijah grabbed an alcohol swab and started cleaning below his collarbone.

"Yeah, he's fed recently," Virgil confirmed and smiled inwardly at the memory.

"Good. Alright, you've gotta promise not to stab me when I do this." Elijah warned. "Keep your nails and your teeth to yourself. The both of you," He said sharply and shot dark looks at them. Deceit raised his hands in front of him, and Virgil laughed again. "This isn't my first hole, bud, I'd do it myself if it wouldn't look like shit," Virgil said. Elijah let out a sigh.

"All right, great. Just trying to keep my face where it is. D, I need you to press down before I stab and then hold it open with all you've got. Under no circumstances should you touch the needle or you'll get silver burn," Deceit nodded vehemently. "3, 2, 1-"


	4. Good, I Feel Bad

"I'm serious V, you owe me in a big way for that!" Deceit whined as they stepped out of the tattoo piercing parlor hand in hand. Virgil chuckled and pulled Deceit into a hug as they ducked down the alleyway near the shop.

"I know, love, I'm sorry. I didn't realize being an Alpha made a difference," Virgil said calmly. "My last piercer must have been one himself,"

"You heal faster and more aggressively, you idiot!" Deceit shot and smacked him in the arm. Virgil winced and frowned at Deceit.

"I'm sorry! Listen, we're two towns over and the tech said I needed to feed pretty quick otherwise the silver will scar and fuck up the holes. What do you say you and me go find some cocky idiot and have a snack? Together. Live," Virgil whispered in as sultry a tone as he could muster. Maybe this was Deceit in him that thought this was a good idea to offer in the first place. Maybe he was desperate to make it up to him. Virgil couldn't be exactly sure why. But it'd just be a little blood from drunk idiots, right? Virgil had done worse. Deceit flushed and held Virgil's hands tight.

"You never want to feed live, you're always talking about how it's too risky these days," Deceit rushed in a hushed tone.

"It's a special occasion. I saw a club a few blocks to the west. What do you say we go dancing?" Virgil said and pressed Deceit up against the wall, nibbling his neck slightly.

"Let's go," Deceit said breathlessly. They both bound upward off to the direction of the bar and landed in the nearest alleyway. Virgil left his hoodie unzipped and fixed his hair quickly when he landed. "How are you getting in, love? I don't have an ID for you," Deceit asked quietly.

"I'll use my gift," Virgil explained softly. "You're a devilishly stunning work of art and there's no way they won't let you in, I'll just join you inside,"

"Is that such a good idea?" Deceit asked warily. Virgil pulled two pairs of earplugs out of his pocket and handed Deceit a pair. He slid his earplugs in and Deceit followed suit. It was already too loud from the outside. Virgil couldn't help but notice Deceit was already tainted a little with his fears, but that meant Virgil just had to be more Deceit for the both of them for now. They were better as a balance.

"You're here with me, love, once we drop the shield it'll be amplified further," Virgil said and clasped his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Strut upfront and let that bouncer know you belong there. I'll be in right after you. Drop your shield when it's clear," Virgil said and pushed Deceit forward and winked.

Virgil took a deep breath and dropped his shield. He doesn't normally use his gift. It seems like one that comes with bad consequences if you abuse it. But this was a very small thing to do. It'd probably be okay? Or perhaps a combination of a new life and time with Deceit was making him act a little more rashly. But it was too late, now. He felt the pull of his blood from inside and exhaled. Here we go.

"V!" Deceit cried in alarm. "Hecate, that feels weird," Deceit mumbled and Virgil kissed him on the cheek, grabbing his hand again.

"Sure does," Virgil said and dragged Deceit into the main part of the club through the rest of the dark hall. They pushed past a curtain into a wide room with a lighted dance floor and a long bar. He wasn't sure there were many people there who weren't drunk. It would be easy pickings. All they had to do was attract some attention. Virgil hated this part, but Deceit was more himself again and confidently strode on to the dance floor, now with Virgil in tow, and started dancing with Virgil right away. Virgil clammed up for a moment before just trying to let himself enjoy this moment with his lover. He could feel the beat in his chest along with Deceit's happiness and a little trepidation. Virgil pushed himself to enjoy it and feed off Deceit's energy and hopefully get caught up in a loop so Virgil wouldn't care that people were looking at him.

The song's pulse was driving and as he and Deceit danced closer than friends would, sometimes touching each other more provocatively, trying to set the bait. Virgil was already catching some eyes staring. He shook his head and closed his eyes again and just focused on the beat and the feeling of Deceit against him. Another hand found its way onto Virgil a few minutes later. Virgil opened his eyes to see some cocky idiot join them in dancing a little more closely than appropriate. He smirked at the new guy and so did Deceit, and the mark looked extremely smug. Deceit's gift would be useless in here to suss out a good mark with all the people, but they could still smell an opportune time to set the trap. It was hard to judge whose pheromones were whose in a club like this, but he was nearly positive it was the idiot rubbing up on them that had hit a peak about halfway through the song. Virgil leaned close to his ear.

"How about you join us in the bathroom," He said, just over the volume of the music and winked at the guy and strode over to the men's room. Deceit followed him closely with a chuckle. They claimed a stall and held open the door for the unsuspecting bar patron who followed suit with a dumb smile on his face. Virgil closed and locked it, pressing up against the new guy between him and the door. Deceit leaned in close to the stranger's ear.

"Now remember, be quiet," Deceit compelled the stranger who nodded excitedly. "Arms out," He hissed and the stranger's arms shot out in-between Virgil and Deceit. They both reached out and took an arm, extending a nail to pierce the skin and started sucking. Virgil's head swam with the powerful fresh blood intermingled with alcohol. He tasted more like a whiskey sour than his common type blood. It was very literally intoxicating. Virgil giggled when he stopped and licked the scar, causing the small cut to heal.

"Thanks, babe," Virgil tittered at the stranger. "You're the best. Now, forget you ever even saw us and take a piss, order a water, and go home safely to get some sleep," Virgil compelled quietly and unlocked the door, leading Deceit out. They stumbled over each other for a second and giggled. They held hands as they entered back on the dance floor. Now that Virgil was toasty from the surprisingly potent combination of fresh drunk and blood link, he really felt like he could have fun. He and Deceit danced closely on the floor again, Virgil really getting into the beat. They both laughed when the song switched and both went for a quick kiss.

Another 2 strangers tried their luck. Another two strangers left the bathroom, ordered a water, and went home. Virgil was pretty fucking drunk at this point. After the third stranger left, Virgil took Deceit in the bathroom stall himself. They had gotten some applause from the people milling around the booths near the bathrooms after they came out that time, which Virgil had bowed to in amusement. They both cackled as they left the bar and less-than-gracefully flitted back to Deceit's crash pad. Virgil and Deceit threw their clothes unceremoniously in the direction of the washing machine and stumbled into the shower together, laughing in between the kisses and bites.

Virgil woke up to Deceit's alarm with a hedgehog in his skull, prickling his brain. Holy crap, why did they drink that much. Deceit groaned as he turned it off.

"We're fucking idiots," Virgil groaned despondently. Deceit just chuckled sweetly and sat up. Virgil buried his head under a pillow from the bed and moaned.

"When is the last time you drank that much, dear? I am not normally that much of a lightweight," Deceit said too calmly and evenly to still be linked to Virgil. Deceit must have gotten his shield up sometime last night.

"The last time I went to college," Virgil grumbled and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I think that's the last time I slept, too,"

"Good to hear you haven't needed to in that long, I suppose," Deceit said and went into the one unlocked closet in his room. Virgil focused and put his shield back up for Deceit's sake.

"Thanks, love, that's a killer headache you've got, there," He thanked him gently. "I'll turn on your kettle in the kitchen," Deceit said as he pulled on his suit. "I barely got my shield up when you passed out and took me with you. I'm glad I had the foresight to set an alarm, though, between the shower and the bed," Deceit said with a laugh. "Though, I thought we'd need it for a different reason,"

"It feels so damn nice to be with you," Virgil grumbled. "I got carried away,"

"I think we both did a little," Deceit said a little sadly. "Luckily, I'm certain we'll only be remembered as bar sluts for a week until the next thing happens there. I didn't feel anybody catch on," Deceit said confidently. "Plus, all that blood and then sleep? You're definitely fully healed, silver or no silver," Deceit added. Virgil's eyes widened with excitement, shot up and sped to the bathroom to look in the mirror, headache or not. He inspected the holes under each collar bone and saw the perfectly smooth skin-tight around his piercing.

"They are!" Virgil exclaimed happily. Deceit came in from behind him and kissed behind his ear.

"And may I say, they look hot as hell," Deceit purred into his ear and Virgil span around and kissed him. Deceit gently pulled on his spider bites with his teeth. "I think these are my favourite to look at. But the one on your tongue is my favourite to feel," He breathed with his eyes shining. Before Virgil fully knew what he was doing, they were making out on the floor in front of the hall bathroom for a bit until Deceit pulled away reluctantly to leave for work.

Virgil waved Deceit off and returned to the bathroom to inspect the rest of his piercings, just in case. He honestly wasn't fully sure what he and Deceit got up to last night after they got home. And they're both into a bit of pain. The eyebrow piercing on the left looked really cool. He considered shaving a line into his eyebrow next to it, like he saw online while looking for clothes. His ears also appeared to have healed up nicely. He got 7 different spots between his two ears. The rook in his right ear was a bitch for Deceit to hold open. Deceit also hated holding open the septum. Virgil liked the little accent there, though. It pulled the eyes down to his spider bites. Virgil had to have those on name alone. Virgil smiled and went to the kitchen. He brewed a cup of tea from the hot water bubbling in the kettle and looked out over the living room. It was a bit of a giant mess from last night.

Virgil went to go pick up all the clothes strewn about the floor and retrieved Vladimir from his hoodie pocket when he shoved them all in the wash and started the load. Virgil hung the suit in the laundry closet, certain that had to be dry cleaned, and went to go brush his teeth. He still kind of tasted cocktails on his tongue. After he was minty fresh, he went to go pull on a pair of jeans and pulled open the laptop to learn how to re-string a guitar to the high-grade ones he bought to make sure he didn't accidentally slice one with a nail.

It looked surprisingly easy, much easier than tuning a piano, at least, but tuning the guitar took a little longer than he anticipated. The little device he bought with the guitar to help him tune was kind of finicky. He eventually just gave up on trying to use it and tuned it by ear. He's been playing piano for longer than he can remember. He's got compositions floating around the market somewhere. He knew what G sounded like. He shouldn't have second-guessed himself at the store. He also changed his new ukulele strings while he was at it before he focused on learning technique and cords from the internet.

The internet really was a life-changer for vampires. It didn't matter what you wanted to learn. It was on there. No longer did you have to head out in daylight to pick up new skills. If Virgil had a secure internet connection, he could figure out anything in life, no matter the predicament he was in. Virgil was working on the chords diligently through the afternoon when he remembered he needed photos for his IDs.

He sighed and got up to put in his brown contacts. He was thankful he wouldn't need to put up with them much today, he'd been spoiled by not wearing them lately and they annoyed him more than usual. Luckily, Deceit's walls were stark white and barren, so it was very easy to set up his photography camera from one of his boxes to take a photo. He tried to look as despondent as possible, as if he was actually at the DMV. He went to go put on his bust and a girl's cut shirt for the second one. It took him a while to dig out his bust from the few boxes of things he never unpacked.

Virgil changed and then walked into the bathroom for the rest of the look. He stared himself in the eyes and watched his eyes light up from behind the contacts and rubbed his face. His features went slightly softer, and she applied some feminine looking makeup. He also styled his hair just a little differently with some little clips he had with his things to go take the second photo. Virgil attached them to a burner e-mail and sent them off to Deceit's side e-mail that goes to a private server and went back to learning the chords on the guitar. It was slightly different holding the guitar with the additional chest, but the padding was kind of nice. She didn't feel like changing back anymore.

Virgil was in the middle of learning a simple song when the connection reestablished. It was just as jarring as always, something she'd have to get used to. At least she didn't end up on the ceiling this time. Virgil went back to learning the order of the chords and strumming. The finger positioning was awkward to get used to, but her fingers were strong enough to hold the positions and not slip. Her brain was wired for a violin, so they kept trying to slip back to a smaller scale and the wrong positions. She had to keep reminding herself there were more strings in a different order. It was a little frustrating, but she knew once she could grasp the chords she'd have a much easier time. Virgil probably would have already picked it up if she hadn't been playing violin and other orchestral strings for so long. Maybe she should have started with the ukulele since it had fewer strings.

Deceit popped in the front door with a beaming smile and wind-blown hair. He winked at Virgil playing on the living room floor before pivoting to lock the door. Deceit had walked over to him, his pleased smile never wavering. Virgil smiled back and felt a little dazzled by his bright eyes and charming smile all over again.

"My, Virgil, you make a fetching lass with the purple hair," He cooed flirtily. She blushed and stopped strumming.

"Sorry, I just wasn't thinking about it and this ended up being more comfortable," Virgil murmured and looked down to the carpet. Deceit walked around behind her. He knelt down on the floor and hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her between hers, still holding the guitar.

"You don't have to apologize for who you are, dear, I made your documents for Sarah, too," He said and kissed her on the temple. Virgil looked away and flushed. "Making progress on the guitar today?" He asked and sat crossed legged behind her, pulling her onto his lap holding her close.

"Kind of. My fingers keep trying to play it as a violin," She mumbled and leaned back against him, putting the guitar down on the ground next to them. Deceit laughed airily and stroked her hair.

"I never realized there was a risk of that. I'm not musically inclined myself," He said, and his hand slid to her cheek and pulled her in for another kiss.

"What are your hobbies, then? I mean, what do you do all night when we're not together?" Virgil asked curiously. "You still write, right?"

"I still do that from time to time. At my estate, I also do archery and sketch wildlife right now," Deceit replied. "I've been switching around things every few months,"

"Oh, those sound cool," Virgil cooed and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I haven't read anything by you in decades, have you been publishing?"

"Oh, yes, not very many but they were all under different names. It's a real shame to lose royalties on a book when you have to fake the death of the author. Sometimes I can make them go 'to the estate of' if I can manage to set one up. But that's very difficult to collect from," Deceit said, sounding annoyed. Virgil giggled and playfully nipped at his jawline from his lap.

"You're plenty wealthy in this lifetime," She said with a smirk. "Look at you supporting your side piece, right now,"

"Virgil, you could never be my side-piece," He said, sounding a little affronted.

"It was a joke, D," Virgil said, rolling her eyes. Deceit pressed a soft kiss to her hair and scooped her up off the floor. He walked into the bedroom and laid her down, then crawled in next to her and laid an arm over her, propping up his head on his elbow and smiled gently down at her.

"I'm so happy you're here with me, love," Deceit said and brushed the bangs out of her face. Virgil held the hand that came back down across her chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't keep up with you more," She apologized quietly. Deceit just shook his head as if he didn't care and didn't want her to worry about it. It relieved a little guilt. "Do you have any copies of your books I could read? It's lonely here all day. It would be nice to have a piece of you," Virgil asked softly.

"Yes, I can bring them over from the estate for you, love," He said and pressed another kiss in her temple. "I guess I didn't try either," He said with a sigh after a short pause. "It didn't end so well last time,"

"No, I guess not," she said sadly. "We really have to be careful. But I think things being broken up by classes will help. Hell, maybe you'll find somebody and won't want to waste all your time with me," Virgil suggested with a little smile.

"I haven't bothered looking," He said dismissively, but looked down to see Virgil frowning up at him. "It doesn't mean I'm closed to the idea. I know eventually, you must pull away again before I lose my independence. I don't want to be lonely, either," Deceit said with a sigh. "Being together forever is different from the way I pictured it when I was a young idiot who found out the person I was courting was a vampire,"

"You don't regret it, do you?" Virgil asked hesitantly, carefully studying his face.

"Not a day, love," He said and squeezed her to his chest. "Even when we originally agreed to be open, I didn't think I would be forced to spend time apart from you," Virgil sighed with relief. "You think I wouldn't have told you before that I regretted it?" Deceit cackled at Virgil's relief.

"You know I worry!" Virgil shot back in frustration. Virgil knew she was being silly. Deceit was extremely upfront with his feelings. Probably a side effect of his gift.

"Yes, you worry all day long. It was fate's curse to you who was born immortal. Otherwise, you would be too powerful," Deceit said with a little laugh.

"There were plenty of stronger Alphas than me," Virgil pouted and threaded her fingers between his.

"Where are they now, then?" Deceit asked with a little cackle and a very sardonic smirk. Virgil rolled to her side and snuggled her face into Deceit's chest and sighed. She didn't understand what he was getting on about, but she liked his confidence in her.


	5. Without You

Virgil was packing up the last of his clothes from his wardrobe while Deceit leaned in the doorway of 'his bedroom' at Deceit's crash pad. He had already packed most of the things he was intending on taking with him to the dorms. They had picked up the few household sundries together last week a little bittersweetly and Virgil had been lethargically packing since, not really ready to pull away. He'd keep finding things to do instead, but he was running out of time to be prepared and his brain wouldn't let him ignore it anymore.

"You found me that locking mini-fridge with the digital temperature setting, right?" Virgil asked, folding the clothes that were haphazardly strewn on the floor from the wardrobe into boxes.

"Yes, It's already loaded into my van," Deceit said with a sad smile, leaning on the door frame and watching him pack with a heartbreaking expression that Virgil could barely manage to look up meet his eyes and acknowledge.

"You're sure you want to risk driving me out to the dorms?" Virgil asked again. His anxiety was taking over his mouth like it always did when he was stressed.

"I've changed the plates and be in a disguise, Virgil," Deceit said, rolling his eyes and pointing down to his casual outfit. He was in distressed blue jeans and black everything else, plus a particularly fetching leather jacket.

"Will you make your hair platinum blonde?" Virgil asked with a probably very pitiful smirk, trying to distract himself. "It would totally clash with the dark brooding bad boy you've got going,"

"Absolutely not," He said and crossed his arms. "I don't want to clash with you either,"

"How about dark blue? It'll go with the purple," Virgil said and closed up the last box of clothes. Deceit sighed and ran his hand through his hair and it came bouncing back a night sky violet. He must have wanted to match even closer than blue. "Thank you!" Virgil said with a laugh and stood up to kiss Deceit. "Please don't be a sourpuss love, I can come back to visit. You know we need some distance," Virgil mumbled, realizing he was being a hypocrite.

"I just don't want to go back to being alone again," Deceit said with a sigh. Virgil sagged momentarily, too. He didn't either. But he didn't see another way around it.

"Well, we can schedule a time to chat long-distance? Maybe do a video chat thing if I can be in my room alone? It's not like I don't have your private cell, now," Virgil said, trying to offer a little hope to Deceit.

"I'd expect nothing else," Deceit said, his relief palpable, though his expression didn't change much.

"We have some time, you know," Virgil whispered and held him close. He knew how to distract both of them and say a proper goodbye. "What do you say we have some fun instead of moping around the apartment," Virgil said and pulled him close, kissing his neck. "We could play Parcheesi," He said and ran his fang along Deceit's jaw. "Jenga, perhaps," He bit down and licked up to his ear and whispered in it. "Maybe Monopoly?" Virgil didn't need to tease him any longer than that.

Deceit helped him carry up his boxes to his dorm room but didn't linger long. The last kiss was bittersweet, and neither of them wanted to say the words… so they just didn't. They both knew they needed space and at the same time, both wanted to say 'goodbye' one more time in the dorm. And that seemed like a disaster. He waited for Virgil to unload a load of blood into his mini-fridge to take the cooler back with him and headed out the door.

The mini-fridge was only a little smaller than the wine fridge at Deceit's apartment, but this one had an opaque door and the temperature readout was on the inside. His roommate didn't need to know what was in there. Virgil would have to feed at least once a day to be around all this fresh blood. The plan was just to wait for his roommate to fall asleep to do it, and they got a lidded black can with opaque garbage bags for the empties.

The dorm he was in had two loft beds per room. Under the loft beds were L-shaped desks with a standard-issue already kind-of-broken swivel chair. The loft beds had bars hanging under the bed for curtains to be hung for privacy. They also came with a dresser and a half-closet each separately. There was a floating counter along the wall with the window. Deceit pulled some strings (see: hacked the system again to swap him with someone else) after he was placed in a dorm to land Virgil in a room that didn't get any direct sunlight in the one window in the direct center of the wall.

Each room had its own half-bath, but Virgil would have to tolerate communal showering and laundry for a while, though Virgil had a key to Deceit's apartment and as long as nobody caught him he could run there for emergencies. Deceit would be back at his estate now that he had no reason to go by the apartment after the sunset. Thinking about it made Virgil bitter. But he was here to learn how to do something new with his life, and he needed to focus on that.

Virgil had registered online as soon as the system would let him, so he could get the most online and evening classes as he could to minimize the time outside in daylight. He had only managed online English and College algebra, though. He had evening Spanish and late afternoon Information Technologies and Art. It was as good as he could get this semester. There weren't too many evening classes offered in general. The school would only let him take 3 extra credit hours per semester as a freshman, which was frustrating. It was the freshman level classes he'd rather get out of the way. His 'parents' also paid his tuition upfront to make sure he was locked in those classes. Virgil just had to tolerate some seminar today, then an RA meeting, and then he could close himself in his blackout curtains under his loft bed and do whatever he liked.

Which was a little limited overnight, seeing as many of his hobbies were musically inclined. Virgil did eventually give in and buy a synth to play with headphones on at night. Hitting the drum pads or playing ukulele would still be too loud for a sleeping roommate. He had never gone very long without playing piano and realized he was being an idiot about feeling like he was cheating on his baby grand. It wasn't the first time in his life he'd have to be without it and it probably wouldn't be his last. Virgil jammed his guitar in the closet behind his jackets. But it wouldn't be easy to pull out.

Virgil was placing the last of the clothes in his drawers and starting to collapse the boxes when he noticed the time. There would be a further surge of students starting to move in at this point. He hurried to get the boxes out in the hall and made sure everything else was in place. He had the black trash can under his desk, obscuring his warmer from the other half of the room along with a plastic tub with his drum pads in it and his ukulele on top of the lid. Virgil also had a smallish black safe with a portion of his cash assets and the keys for Deceit's apartment under his desk. He would have to periodically refill it from the safe at Deceit's apartment, but hard to trace cash on hand was always useful.

On the desk had placed his laptop, textbooks, and some various office sundries. He had hung a black blackout curtain on both sides, just in case any sun broke in and to help muffle sounds. He also put some acoustic foam up on the walls. He knew it was a relatively pointless endeavor, but Virgil mostly just liked the look of it. He also put up some fake cobwebs up in the corner under the bunk just for fun. He joked to himself that it's where Vladimir lived.

Virgil fitted his bed with black silk sheets, picked by Deceit of course, who failed to realize that the value of the sheets should never exceed that of the mattress. But they reminded Virgil of him, so was at least something. His giant purple fuzzy weighted blanket dwarfed the bed and hung off the edges, being for a bed a 2 bed sizes larger. Virgil had got all of his clothes in the dresser and closet with a little room to spare. He only hung his various jackets, a few dress shirts, a pair of black dress slacks, and his new dresses, and everything else he shoved in the dresser. He had put some drawers in his closet for his various art sundries and his other pair of new shoes was at the bottom.

Virgil hung a few posters, one of a band he loved, another of a movie with a style he particularly enjoyed. He also had sketch Deceit did for him of a tarantula climbing a tree on the wall under the loft he could look at when he was on his computer when he got dumb and missed him. At the end of his room where the wall with the window was, his mini-fridge sat under the table and his little tea collection was just above it. He was careful to make sure it only took up 1/3rd of the desk so he wouldn't push any boundaries with his roommate. He brought 2 generic mugs and a new trial size dish soap to clean them in the bathroom sink.

Virgil also had a set of black towels, a shower kit, and a sundries kit in the bathroom. That was a shared space, so Virgil opted to keep everything in a container of some sort so his roommate wouldn't mistake his things, nor would he. He'd been through so many brands of tooth care that he genuinely struggled to remember which toothbrush or whatever was his all the time. Deceit and Virgil accidentally swapped a few times. They weren't susceptible to germs hurting his teeth or anything, but the idea was just gross. Deceit may have made fun of him for it since they kissed all the time. He may have also joked that Virgil might accidentally swap spit with his new roommate without kissing him. Thus the containers.

Virgil now was satisfied with the location of everything, so he slid the closet doors over his half and crawled up into the loft bed to hide under the weighted blanket and listen to music. He had some time to kill until the mandatory meetings instead of having to listen to every person in a 50-yard radius unloading their shit. He also just was a bit too morose about not being able to see Deceit for a while to feel up to doing anything fun at the moment.

Virgil was only a few songs in with the room door slammed open, which made Virgil jump under the blanket. It's just the human moving in, it's fine. He tried to reassure himself. He would have a rough time with all these sudden noises on the floor. He was hoping it would settle down after the first classes and homework are assigned. The idea of listening to pencils and keyboard clicks sounded relaxing compared to all this clattering.

"Looks like your roomie already moved in!" A loud voice boomed. Virgil wished he had the foresight to wear earplugs under headphones for when his roommate moved in. The headphones and weighted blanket were enough up until now.

"Yeah, he sure looks like a ray of sunshine," Another voice mumbled sarcastically.

"I'm sure you'll work it out," The first said and placed down something heavy, followed by the sound of getting a good smack on the back. "I'm going to go get another box and check on your mother. She's probably crying again,"

"Okay, dad," The second voice said, tinged with annoyance. There were some shuffling noises for a moment and the other person also exited the room. Virgil tried to drown out the chatter for a while by turning up his music, but there was only so much he could do. There were another two trips worth of talking and grunting to put up with.

"Be good this year," A sad-sounding voice cracked, followed by sniffling.

"I'll be fine, mom," The youngest sounding voice mumbled, placing extra emphasis on the word fine.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," The loud one said boisterously and the roommate muttered some kind of goodbye and closed the door. There were shuffling noises again, so he must have begun unpacking. Virgil peeked out from under his blanket. He was a tall, fit, and tan boy with wavy dark brown hair and mossy green eyes. Virgil guessed he was probably only an inch or two shorter than himself. He looked strained already, and his white shirt was sticking a bit to his back. He was in slim-fit jeans and a pair of nice brown boots. The new roommate brought red sheets and had some of his own posters rolled up in the wastebasket right now, probably soon to be plastered on the wall. He had more boxes labeled clothes than Virgil thought he could fit in the dresser and half closet.

He was unpacking a laptop and a lamp on to the desk at the moment and had a little figurine of Mushu from Mulan on the put next to the lamp. Virgil smirked and dropped the edge of the blanket again and went back to focusing on his music. At least they had enjoying Mulan in common even if they had nothing else. The stomping upstairs was continuing to making him nervous, but it was probably just heavy boxes and weak people.

Virgil closed his eyes and tried to follow the chords to the guitar line with his hand to pass the time and settle down. He was steadily getting better at remembering the right chords for the right instrument and was very proud of himself. It was just like other strings in the orchestra he picked up, though Virgil wasn't sure he'd played any string other than a violin and a viola in the last 50 years, and that's probably where the struggle was from. He didn't struggle as much like this when he learned the other orchestral strings.

Virgil loved the drum kit and mostly considered it something it played now instead of just learning. He was just so used to the stiff, restrained movements of the orchestra and playing a drum-set sort of made him drop all that posturing and loosen up. He was already familiar with all the techniques from the various lives he lived in the orchestra and enjoyed stringing beats together more than anything else he was doing with the guitar or ukulele right now. He had hoped that maybe he could rent some time on the school's set in the future.

Virgil had checked the time and saw that he needed to leave for the lecture hall for the mandatory something-something if he wanted to get a good seat. He jumped down from his bed on soft feet and pulled the blanket back over the bed.

"Uh…." A voice behind him said with heavy confusion. "How long have you been there?"

"Um… a few hours?" Virgil responded. "Did you not notice me when you came in?" Virgil turned around to face his new roommate.

"No, I thought that was a pillow," His roommate replied with his eyes wide.

"Well, I'm not a pillow," Virgil said and rolled his eyes, reaching down for his shoes. "I'm going to the assembly," He said and out the hall before he could say anything else. That was extremely awkward. Virgil walked down the stairwell and pulled his hood over himself and thoroughly as possible slouched from the sun as he walked to the next building over for the mandatory whatever. He had forgotten sunscreen, so he just opted to slouch low and depend on his mask and sunglasses until he made it indoors again. Virgil situated himself in the very back at the edge near the exit.

He never liked crowds of people. Unless he could be close to an exit, he didn't like to enter any rooms with lots of people in it without someone there with him. This was just something he'd have to work on about himself, and he shoved himself into the deep end when he came to college. Class sizes were much bigger than they used to be. Virgil had just resolved to show up to all classes early enough to get a seat at the end of the row every time he possibly could until he could convince himself that it would be okay. It felt a little silly to him. The room would be full of humans. It's not like they could chase him if they tried. But knowing it is silly would not fix the problem. It wasn't so incapacitating he couldn't do it at all, so he could believe it would end up okay, eventually.

Virgil pulled his feet up on the auditorium seat and curled into a ball as best as he could on the tiny chair to try and focus on his music as more people started coming in to look for a seat. It's just 2 hours of a lecture. Virgil really doubted things had changed that much since he came to university last. No candles, don't eat people, blah blah blah. He just had to get through 2 hours. What a minuscule percentage of his life. He barely noticed 16 hours passing with D this summer. Virgil adjusted his hood to cover as much of his headphones and face as possible and stared blankly ahead to wait.

Virgil hadn't moved at all until he saw people around him starting to get up to leave. He quickly filed out and saw a desk with papers and took one of each, not even looking at the contents. Somebody asked him to sign his name for attendance, but after that blip, he rushed back to his dorm as fast as humanly possible. He made it. He made it. Classes wouldn't be as big as the auditorium. He had that under his hat. He could do it again. Virgil was proud of himself for getting through that without a hitch.

Virgil got back to his room to realize the tips of his fingers that were holding the paperwork were red. Well, shit. Maybe Deceit had something with those constant gloves, after all. Virgil went through his bathroom kit and put ointment on his fingers as his roommate came back. His swelled pride took a ding and went back to normal. What a dumb mistake.

"So, Eris, was it?" His roommate said from behind Virgil as he put away the ointment in his bathroom kit and turned around.

"I go by Virgil, thanks," Virgil said and returned to the bedroom, still wringing the ointment into his fingers.

"I would too, If I had that name," He said and Virgil glared at him. Roman shot his hands up defensively from the glare but dropped them after a moment. "My name is Roman, I'm your new roommate," He said and held out his hand. Virgil continued covering the small burn and shook his head slightly.

"I gathered, watching you move in and all, plus the e-mail that told me who you were," He said and went over to the closet to kick off his shoes into it and close it again. Roman huffed.

"You really are the brightest ball of sunshine, huh?" He said, sounding annoyed. His sarcasm reminded him of D. That made Virgil chuckle a little, and he loosened up. He was afraid of new people and scared of the risk of living with a human, but sarcasm? That he could deal with.

"And you really are clueless, but don't let that stop you," Virgil said and laughed darkly, crawling back up on to the loft bunk.

"Listen, I'm stuck with you for a few months, so let's just do our roommate agreement and get our biggest gripes out of the way so we can tolerate each other going forward," Roman said with annoyance.

"I tolerate you plenty fine, Princey," Virgil said and rolled his eyes at him.

"Because of my last name?" Roman asked and sounded exasperated.

"Got it in one," Virgil winked at shot finger guns at him.

"Does that mean you're a blowhard?" Roman asked and raised his eyebrow. Virgil laughed behind his hand in surprise.

"I didn't see puns coming from you," Virgil said with a raised eyebrow after a silent beat. Roman flushed in embarrassment and Virgil turned to climb his loft.

"I'm not a pun person," He said in frustration. "It was a play on words! Because your last name is Tempest!"

"Got it in one again, give this man a prize for identifying what a pun is!" Virgil said and started trying to get the chords to his song again as he sat cross-legged on his mattress and facing Roman.

"Will you come down here and do your agreement already?" Roman asked and rolled his eyes and flopped a page at him.

"Just hand me the paper and I'll fill it out," Virgil said and bobbed his head to the beat.

"It's a page from the orientation table," Roman said, crossing his arms. "You know, one of the ones you left in the bathroom for some reason?"

Virgil hopped down off the bed, and because of the limited floor space, he landed right in front of Roman, who stumbled back in surprise. Virgil grabbed the stack of pages and a pen from his desk and sat down behind the curtain, filling out the blank agreement paperwork. Roman stammered behind the curtain and pulled it open to look at him.

"What is it, Princey?" Virgil said but didn't look up from filling out the form.

"Warn me when you're going to do that!" Roman said. "You're like a freaking cat, you didn't even make a noise when you landed!"

"And you're the mouse who was too stupid to run and hide," Virgil mused with a smirk. He glanced at the time on his phone to make sure he wouldn't miss the floor meeting and continued to fill out the form.

"Why would I run and hide?" Roman groaned, not getting the picture and sounding annoyed.

"Why wouldn't you?" Virgil said with a dark chuckle and finished the form. Humans were usually a little unsettled by him. Roman didn't seem to be though, and that was an interesting turn of events for Virgil. Perhaps he was defensive and judgmental but suited Virgil just fine if Roman kept his guard up for the term.


	6. Pins & Needles

Virgil was sitting at his desk and filling out the roommate agreement with all of his limits and information for his new roommate who was antsy to just get it over with. Said new roommate, Roman, was awkwardly standing in the middle of the floor holding a piece of paper and glaring at him. He sounded like he was going to start arguing again while Virgil finished filling out his copy, but Virgil cut him off before he could start.

"These are a contact, yeah? We negotiate them? Hand me yours and I'll see if there's anything I object to," Virgil said as he opened the curtain and handed Roman the form he just filled out.

"I haven't filled mine out yet. I thought we were supposed to talk about things first," Roman said and held up his empty page.

"It's easier to negotiate contracts after they're written instead of stumbling around issues verbally. You can make changes to any contract you get. You just have to initial where you made the changes," Virgil said and rolled his eyes. "I'll wait," Virgil said and grabbed his ukulele and started playing along with his song in with more simplistic chords. Roman stared at him wide-eyed confusion. "You're welcome to my tea if you wash and dry the mug when you're done. Why don't you have a cup so you can think straight," Virgil said pointedly to Roman when he flubbed on a transition under his gaze. Roman shrugged and went to go flip on the kettle and looked through the bags of tea.

"Do you have milk?" Roman asked as he poured what smelled like a sweet black tea. Probably the caramel one. There were so many smells here it was a little harder to place things exactly. He would have to get used to that. As long as he can smell silver and blood he'd probably be okay.

"No. And 'don't touch my mini-fridge' is a stipulation if you read the contract, one I won't shift on. If you want milk or honey, you'll have to store it yourself,"

"I don't have the money for a mini-fridge," Roman said with a scoff.

"Then tough, cookies, huh? Steal some creamer pods for the dining hall," Virgil said with a little laugh and he flubbed his cord again. "Oh, shoot," he muttered and went back to his song. It was another two songs of playing the main chords along until Roman piped up.

"Done," He said and handed Virgil his copy.

"Cool. You object to anything in mine?" Virgil asked as he started perusing Roman's. It was pretty normal human stuff about privacy, not being too loud, all those things. "Yours is pretty generic. Maybe we should make a dorm copy we can edit going down the road," Virgil said as he finished it off.

"Yours is a little weird?" Roman said.

"But not objectionable?" Virgil asked and strummed softly.

"I sing often so I don't mind you playing music. But If it's going to be as bad as your ukulele playing, then please don't do it while I'm studying," Roman said with a laugh. Virgil glared at him and turned on his synth.

"Would sir rather be gently serenaded by the piano?" Virgil said, dripping with sarcasm, and started playing Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1. He couldn't handle having his musical talent questioned. The keys felt off as he plucked them gently, the plastic keys feeling a little off under his fingertips. Either way, that was one insult he would never stand. Roman must have taken the hint and stared awe-struck for a moment at Virgil playing at the synth.

"Wait, then why are you so shit at ukulele?" He asked. Virgil bristled and stopped playing. That was not the response he was hoping for.

"I just started learning it and it's very different from playing the violin," He had to hold back a hiss. He turned off the synth and turned back to Roman. "What, are you gifted and trained in every instrument there is?"

"No, I don't know! It looks easy when other people play it," Roman said defensively.

"I'm adding to my roommate agreement that I'm teaching you an instrument," Virgil groaned.

"Wait, why?" Roman asked with sudden confusion.

"Because it's important to me that you know exactly how wrong you are," Virgil said with a hint of dark humor. He stood up and wrote down his new stipulation on a line.

"As long as it doesn't get in the way of class, I guess it would be cool," Roman said, shrugging, trying to look nonchalant but failing enough that Virgil could tell he was pretty interested in trying.

"Yes, you can serenade all the ladies," Virgil said with an eye roll and sat back at his desk with both his and Roman's papers and began typing up the combination of the two. When he was done, he went to print and realized he wasn't at Deceit's place with the wireless printer. He groaned. He needed printer so he wouldn't have to be in one of those little rooms in the library with other people from the tour. He pulled out his phone and started looking for one. Wireless wouldn't work well in here with all the competing signals he could hear ringing so he'd have to go classic cables.

"Do you ever take off those headphones?" Roman asked with a touch of humor, still watching him.

"No, they're grafted to my head," Virgil said and signed the bottom of both contracts and handed them over. "We'll agree to make changes later as needed. I typed up a copy. We can turn them into the RA at the floor meeting and be done with it as you wanted," Virgil said with a groan. All of the sounds and smells were getting to him. He ordered a printer and set his phone back down on the desk.

"Well, what about the no perfumes or Cologne thing on yours? What if I have a date?" He asked.

"Spray it when you leave the building. I'm probably not the only one who is allergic." Virgil covered for his sensitive nose. "Or just do your date a favor and don't wear it so when you start necking they don't get a mouthful of chemicals," Virgil said monotonously. Roman went beet red and stammered. "It's called being a considerate lover, Princey, just throw them out. You smell fine," He said and checked his phone again. "I'm going to the floor meeting," He said and left the room. Roman was behind him a moment later with the contracts in hand in another moment.

Virgil groaned as he crawled back into bed after the floor meeting. The RA used very colorful language to express that he was zero percent interested in dealing with any shit they started and anybody who hadn't already turned in their roommate agreement was threatened joyously. Virgil was chill with him. He always liked humans that threatened him and everyone around them, even though clearly they weren't going to do anything. Like angry baby kittens. Virgil slid his mask on and hid under his blanket as Roman returned after him.

"Uh, you okay there, Tempy?" Roman asked and Virgil heard him sit down on his chair. Virgil just groaned bitterly in response. 'Uh, yeah I'm a vampire and you're all loud and stinky' would just go over great. Maybe he could just call it a medical condition. But he didn't need nosy-mc-cute-face looking anything up. Lying about things that can be easily looked up rarely works out in anyone's favor.

"I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get dinner," He said after a quiet moment and pulled something from the closet. Virgil stuck his thumb out from under the blanket and gave him a thumbs up. Roman shuffled out of the room and closed the door. Virgil listened to a few songs until he settled down from the overwhelmed feeling he had. He crawled down from the loft and made himself some tea, some soothing chamomile. He sat at his desk to read on his laptop so he could have something to focus on other than hating everything. He should pick some popular YA novel and try to catch up on some youth culture.

Virgil was a few chapters into a random one recommended in the YA section when Roman returned. He smelled like pizza and coke. Ah, yes, teenage nutritional rebellion. It smelled better than the veggie-loaf breath that was in the hall earlier. No human food smelled particularly great but Virgil liked the smell of fresh pizza. The cafeteria pizza was not fresh, however. It reminded him a bit of the smell of cardboard. Probably about as nutritionally as valid.

"Hey," Roman said. Roman yawned and collapsed on his own chair and opened up his laptop as well. It sounded like he was writing something with how consistently the keys were clacking. Virgil glanced over and saw him typing away. Maybe he was a writer like Deceit. Virgil went back to this story. These were really easy to read and had themes Virgil could get behind. Virgil had been used to reading non-fiction and technical documentation for a long time, other than catching up on Deceit's collection of writing, and he found himself blowing through the chapters quickly. He was going to confuse the librarians with the rate he was checking out e-books, but he didn't particularly care. Virgil was enjoying his second cup of tea and was far into the YA novel when Roman yawned deeply at close to midnight.

"I'm going to change into pajama pants," Roman said. Virgil nodded and pulled his curtain closed to give Roman some privacy. "Done," He said and Virgil heard his his chair squeak and the clicking at his keyboard resumed. A while later, while Virgil was scrolling the University library's digital YA section again, Roman yawned again and he heard him stand up from his chair and the click of the laptop closing.

"Hey, Princey, what are some of your favourite chapter book series?" He asked from behind the curtain and Roman didn't respond for a moment, taking longer to process the question than earlier.

"I like lots of them. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Chronicles of Narnia, Wonderful Wizard of Oz, His Dark Materials, A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue" He started but was interrupted with a yawn. "I could go on,"

"That's plenty for now. G'night, Princey," Virgil said with a little chuckle.

"Night Emo-head," Roman replied and yawned again. He crawled up the loft under his fluffy red and gold duvet. Emo-head? Virgil googled it and discovered lots of the music he loved from the 2000's had a whole punk sub-culture he missed while he was busy being a stooge. And he loved the style. He basically already had the look with his clothes if he wore more stripes and band shirts that were probably less dated than his.

It seemed like punk, emo, and goth, had lots of overlap, but Emo was like a revival of punk in popular culture, though it was associated with moody teenage rebellion and sorrow. It was popular a while ago, but it was recently coming back in popular culture. He just needed to wear his hair more in his face and put on some different makeup. Virgil silently walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He met his glowing eyes and rubbed his hand over his face. He already had the pale skin going. He just needed some more eyeshadow to go with it. He ran his hand through his hair and pulled it a little more forward.

Virgil smiled at himself in the mirror. Oh yeah, he was emo as hell now. He flushed the toilet for good measure and washed his hands. Virgil went back over to his laptop and purchased some other bands that were mentioned in the wikipedia article after sitting down. Now, he doesn't have to be the weird pale kid who dressed to heavy for hot weather. It was a statement. It was a look, a style. There was never a better cover for being a vampire than dressing up like a kid who wished they were a vampire.

After loading up some new music on his player, Virgil scrolled through the digital library and placed holds on all the books Roman listed. It seemed easier than just methodically reading what's marked as popular on the library website. He was able to get The Golden Compass right away and decided to finish it after the one he was reading called Witch World. It was a best-seller, but it also didn't have a waitlist, so he wasn't sure how popular it was. He may just have to buy Harry Potter if he wanted to read it soon. It was at least 2 months out even with 5 copies. He had read the first 2 in the '90s, back when you couldn't walk 10 feet without someone talking about it, but he didn't remember much of it. He was probably out of the target demographic, seeing as he can't relate to an 11-year-old boy basically ever, but he'd give it another shot. They were still selling merch for it at the mall and the series had been finished for years, so it was still certainly a phenomenon.

Roman was finally snoring a few chapters into the Golden Compass, which was largely political intrigue so far. Virgil didn't anticipate that from Roman, but he did just meet the dude. Other than what he could glean from his decorations, which were musicals and Disney movies, he seemed okay enough. Cute, witty, and sarcastic was definitely Virgil's type. He wasn't so sure about the false confidence and the ways he acted like he was better than others, but Virgil hoped he was just jumping to conclusions.

After a few minutes of snoring and Virgil was sure Roman was asleep, he went over to the fridge and retrieved a bag of blood. He made sure it was re-locked and dropped it in the bag warmer he had placed on the floor behind his garbage can and let it heat. This was a newer one Deceit got for him that heated bags faster and doesn't ding when it's done. It just makes a clicking noise when it's complete. The one he left at D's apartment was an admittedly old model. He retrieved the heated bag let the warm blood wash over him in a wave of relief. He felt himself almost reset, his thirst he didn't even know had built had contributed to the overwhelming sensations that made him hide earlier.

This was going to be hard. He lived off-campus last time and it was much less populated. He got away with bags and live on drunks when his sellers were out. He didn't have to live in a building with hundreds of weak, vulnerable meals on wheels. He had been living with humans for longer than he could remember but it never seemed as hard as it did right now in these jam-packed dorms. Virgil sucked the bag completely dry and chucked it in his trash. Virgil sighed and went back to reading. He didn't like thinking about his thirst or how difficult it was. He'd rather read about this little mischievous blond girl's misadventure. The deamons were a cool concept. Vladimir would be his deamon, for sure. He placed the little spider plush on his head from his hoodie pocket and settled back into the story.

Virgil was jarred from his reading-fugue by what could only be Roman's alarm. It was at 7am. He must have scheduled 8 AM classes even though he went to bed at 1 AM. What a masochist. Roman grunted and crawled down his ladder. Virgil had his feet up on the chair and silently read behind the curtain. He had hoped Roman would assume the lump under his blanket on the loft was him, but he didn't really care as long as he wasn't caught too often. It was entirely believable someone as pale and tired looking as him was an insomniac. Roman seemed to be too out of it to be observant as Virgil listened to him stumble into the bathroom.

He was almost done with the Golden Compass and found himself pretty excited for the next book. He figured he should probably start his class reading after he finished it though. He had spent most of the time nervously dicking around, and he needed to try to focus his energy into studying and art. Roman was awake and probably headed to class so he could play his drums while before Information Technology later. He had plenty of time to read the first two chapters before class.

Roman came from out from the bathroom shortly and changed, sounding hurried as pulled on his shoes and left. Virgil finished the story a while later. He got up and stretched, just for the sake of moving. He could probably get started on his online classes now, but he wanted a break from sitting still. Virgil pulled down his weighted blanket and folded it onto the desk as a buffer for his drum pads after moving the synth off the desk. He gathered the set out of the bin he had them in under the desk and set up to spend some time just wailing on his kit. Virgil switched his headphones from his music player to the drum pad's soundbox and just blew off some steam.

Virgil didn't register the click of the door as his own room's while he was pounding out a beat. He assumed it was his neighbor's door. It was not.

"Tempest, what in the world are you doing back there?" Roman asked from the other side of the curtain. Virgil bristled and stopped playing. Whoops.

"Kicking ass and taking names," He said, trying to sound confident and pulled his curtain open. "Didn't realize you came in," He added honestly. Getting caught jamming was a little like getting caught with your pants down in that it's embarrassing in a way you can't fully articulate.

"Are you a music major or something?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"No, programming major," Virgil said and turned around to face Roman, pulling the curtain open.

"Woah, You got hit by an emo truck this morning!" Roman said with a laugh.

"Sure did, Princey," Virgil chuckled quietly. "And you let your inner drama queen out. Love the mascara, it really brings out your eyes," Roman bristled slightly and stared at him with concern. "What, you think I care about your makeup? Dude, look at me," Virgil said with another laugh. Roman relaxed.

"I just didn't think it was noticeable is all," Roman said.

"Most people won't notice it," Virgil said with a half-smirk. "You've got the no-makeup look down,"

"Yeah, and you've got the entirety of Sephora on your face," Roman said with a mean-spirited laugh.

"I mean, I can do a nice black lip for you, if you like more glam," Virgil said with a flirty wink. Roman flushed slightly under the foundation and ran his hand through his hair. "I not in the secret spreading business, Princey, if that's what you're worried about,"

"No, an emo nightmare, such as yourself, clearly has no place to judge," He said a little haughtily. Virgil briefly got upset but decided to let it go. Roman was probably feeling defensive. He kind of liked the nickname. Even if what he said was kind of mean.

"Oh, that's my new title for sure. I'm getting a desk placard printed," Virgil quipped back. And he will. Just to see Roman's face. Roman laughed and went to go sit at his desk. He sat backward in his chair and swiveled to face him. Virgil got up to put away his kit.

"That's a drum set, right? so how does that thing work, anyway?" Roman asked and examined the kit. Virgil unplugged his headphones from the receiver and tapped the cymbal pad and a tinny sizzle came from the little speaker on the receiver.

"Hitting the pad tells the box to play a noise," Virgil explained. "It's a regular electronic kit but with no frame,"

"Do you play have any other instruments?" Roman asked and looked up at Virgil's face. "You look like an electric guitar guy, and not a ukulele guy," Roman added, looking pointedly at the ukulele put to the side while he was putting away his kit.

"I'm still learning guitar," Virgil said, a little annoyed. "I play lots of instruments,"

"Well, list some," Roman prodded him, rotating his wrist to motion Virgil to go on.

"Fine. Here's just a few: Piano, flute, harp, lyre, violin, tubular bells, and if you hold a gun to my head I can play tambourine," The 60's was an event for everyone and drugged up hippies were easy meals, but Virgil could never look at a tambourine the same again even though he played them in orchestra.

"Don't you just hit a tambourine?" Roman asked with a snicker.

"Only if it's over your head," Virgil snarked as he pulled all the plugs and wrapped the cables. He placed them gingerly in a box under the desk and pulled out his IT textbook.

"It's the first class day, did you already get assigned homework online?" Roman asked, sounding confused.

"If you read ahead before the lecture it's easier to catch back up if you space out or are lost on something," Virgil explained honestly. He's been around this track plenty of times.

"So you intend on spacing out?" Roman said with a laugh.

"What, you think an explanation of how to use a mouse and type in a word processor would enthrall you?" Virgil asked and rolled his eyes. "Plus, you ace any pop quiz," Roman looked a little impressed.

"Is the class really that bad?" Roman asked. Virgil flipped to the first page of chapter one and held it up and open for Roman to read for a moment. "Wow, it is that bad," Roman said and held his hands up in defeat. "You'll be lucky if you stay awake," That made Virgil cackle. He wished he could sleep without having to recover from something dangerous. A cute little satisfied smile spread on Roman's face.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it, Princey," Virgil said and returned with a smirk and looked down to read his Hecate-forsaken chapters. He saw Roman watching him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Are those prescription lenses? I've never seen you without them," Roman asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Virgil said. "Glasses give me migraines," He lied coolly.

"What color are your eyes under them?" Roman prodded and dropped his chin on his arms crossed over the back of the chair.

"Boring brown," Virgil said as he kept reading. "Are your eyes naturally that mossy green?" Virgil said and looked up to Roman.

"Yeah, I got them from my mom," He said and spun briefly on his chair. "Just like my love for acting!" Roman said enthusiastically.

"Is that your major, being dramatic?" Virgil asked as he faced Roman and brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"No, it's my minor. My parents didn't want me to major in it. I'm a business major," Roman stated, and Virgil bristled visibly. Roman raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just… listen, your parents aren't here and you have a few months to change your major with little fuss. They wouldn't even know if you switched until you graduated," Virgil explained quickly.

"That's kind of none of your business, isn't it?" Roman said a little angrily.

"It's also none of theirs. I'm not telling you what to do, but… Not to knock your parents or anything, but you still have a soul and it's a waste to give it someone whose going to squeeze you dry for profits until you have no tears left to cry," Virgil said solemnly and Roman looked upset.

"You should get back to studying proper mouse technique instead of insulting my life choices," Roman said humorlessly.

"You mean your parent's life choices," Virgil said and rolled his eyes. "But, yeah, I've got some important information to learn about home row," He added sarcastically and turned back to his textbook. Roman glared at him silently before getting up and leaving the room. Virgil really hoped he wouldn't have to watch the light die from that kid's bright and shining eyes.


	7. Say Amen

Virgil was sitting in IT class lazily taking notes on his laptop with a small window of poetry he scrolled when he just couldn't take the lecture and all the sounds of heartbeats anymore. He wasn't sure he'd ever need these notes, but it wasn't a habit he intended to break. Virgil was scrolling to the next page when he heard a quiet huff of frustration from next to him. He saw the student next to him looking at his laptop screen out of the corner of his eye. Virgil went back to the previous page. The student next to him must have also lost his mind and noticed the poetry. He was one of the few other people in the class who was actually taking notes, also on a laptop, instead of falling asleep or doodling. When the student next to him idly rolled his fingers on his desk Virgil went to the next page.

The kid reading next to him was dressed in a black polo and looked significantly more put together than the other kids around him. They looked like he should teach the class over the long-winded person upfront. He had slicked back short dark brown hair and a stoic expression. His steel-gray eyes looked very interested in the poem on Virgil's screen. He had dark, thick frames and were iconic nerd-dom. He was also slightly taller than Virgil, with a lean build.

When the kid next to him glanced away and rolled his fingers on his desk again, took that as a cue to Virgil change the page again. It didn't take much longer to read the poetry than Virgil did, which was saying something. Virgil had been a speed reader since he tried to get a medical degree in the early 1900s. The blood turned out to be too much for him, which was obvious in hindsight. This kid had to read 24/7. Virgil was silently impressed. They had similar cues for what to take notes on as well. They stayed in the same pace until the end of class. Virgil saved his notes and looked to the kid packing up next to him.

"Hey, um," Virgil started, realizing he didn't know how to get this guy's attention. The boy next to him paused and nodded at him in acknowledgment.

"Logan," He said plainly and went back to putting his laptop in his bag.

"Virgil," He blurted. "The library has a second copy of this if you want to check it out and finish it. People are unsurprisingly uninterested in the school's digital poetry collection. I can write it down if you'd like," Virgil offered and pulled a small notepad from his backpack. The student next to him nodded.

"Thank you," He said. "I appreciate you waiting for me to finish. I found the poetry helped me focus during this review material. My eyes do not typically drift like that. I apologize for infringing on your privacy," He apologized somewhat monotonously.

"It's fine," Virgil said with a little chuckled and handed him the note with the poetry collection title and author and his phone number. Logan raised his eyebrow at it. "Hey, most people don't like poetry. I'd like some recommendations. I reread the same ones sometimes," Virgil explained. Logan nodded and took the note.

"I'll admit your attitude towards academia is refreshing, I would not find further communication distasteful. The man next to me was drawing penises instead of taking notes," Logan said with a hint of frustration. "If I am ever unfortunately taken ill, it would comfort me to know I could avoid not having notes for the day," Well, Logan wasn't wrong. It's not like Virgil will ever be sick unless something really terrible happens.

"Is Programming your major or is this an easy credit thing?" Virgil asked as he slid the last of his things in his bag and stepped aside from his chair to let Logan exit to the isle.

"Yes, programming is my major along with engineering. My minor is in astronomy," Logan explained and began to walk with Virgil out of the lecture hall. Wow, that is some determination.

"Oh, astronomy is fun," Virgil mused. "There's something so wondrous about the way everything in the universe works in tandem," Virgil smiled. He hadn't studied astronomy in a few years. He should probably catch up with the new research. Less depressing than world news, anyway. Logan's face lit up when he said that.

"It really is marvelous. There is still so much about the universe we don't understand, and I think understanding more about celestial bodies is where we will find more answers," Logan said and checked his watch. "I must get to Calculus. I will see you in the next session, Virgil," Logan said and walked off. Virgil slid his headphones back on and breathed a sigh of relief as it muffled the world more. Logan was a cool guy. Virgil looked forward to seeing what he would text him to read. He just had online classes for the rest of the day, so he started the precariously sunny trek back to his dorm.

Virgil was in the middle of Calculus, doing some stupid homework website that cost extra when Roman came back into the room. Virgil had paused from working to see if there was any acknowledgment, but Roman just sat at his desk and got on his laptop without even glancing at him. Virgil didn't mind being left alone to do his work, but telling him to consider not to do what his parents were forcing him to do didn't seem like it warranted the silent treatment. Roman only gets one measly life to make his mistakes. It's not like Virgil could tell him he spent the last few decades wasting away at some business who cared more about profits than literally the fate of the entire planet just for an 'upper-middle' management job.

Virgil went back to focusing on answering what felt like the same math questions he'd been answering since he first enrolled in college. He missed D deeply. The summer with him after years of slowly growing loneliness was an island paradise in the middle of a lifeless sea. He reminisced about dancing at the club with him, losing track of what he was calculating on screen. D made it fun. It made him kind of crave a whiskey sour. That was something he could do instead of being bummed in his dorm. Virgil smirked and finished his Calculus homework with renewed vigor.

When Roman left for what Virgil assumed was dinner- he didn't say anything again- Virgil pulled one of his new gothic dresses from the closet. It was a long-sleeved black dress with a built-in fake bustier with just more buckles than any dress should rightfully have. The skirt was kind of short and tight, so she would need to wear stockings and tuck. Virgil stepped into the bathroom and shifted her face more feminine in the mirror and switched to classier and more colorful makeup. She donned a deep, blood-red lip just for the laughs and dressed up in all her fineries. Virgil slid her wallet and phone into her top and put on combat boots to head out. She held her head high to walk out of the building like she belonged there in the men's dorm. Virgil got a wolf whistle as she turned the corner to the stairwell, and she scowled. That dude was going on her list.

The sun was almost completely gone, just a tinge of red at the edge of the horizon as Virgil wandered off-campus on foot. She checked her phone for some kind of an alternative bar than the typical college bar. A goth or queer or an event night. She liked dance music, but it wasn't usually her scene. She found a metal bar a couple of blocks away with glee after about a minute of searching. She could headbang with the best of them. Ducking into an alley, she bounded to shorten her walk.

When Virgil arrived, the first thing she did was order a whiskey sour. And then another. She caught a few lecherous smiles, but unlike every other woman on the planet, she wasn't really worried about the men at the bar. If they tried to drug her all it would do is make it harder for her not to kill them. And the world wouldn't miss that kind of person. At the end of the second whiskey, she still wasn't as fuzzy as after that first guy a few towns over. How drunk was he? Or was it because of the fresh blood?

"Hey, bartender, if I wanted to get absolutely fucked up, what would I order?" She asked and dropped two 20s in cash on the bar. He eyed her for a moment, probably sizing her up.

"Probably a Jägerbomb," He said. "You need change?" He said, bending over to grab an energy drink from the fridge under the bar.

"Nope," She said and waited patiently as he poured her a glass of some energy drink that smelled like battery acid and a shot of Jäger. She dropped in the shot and downed it without putting it down.

"Woah, hon, hold up," The bartender tried to stop her, but she just held up her hand and finished it. "Damn," He said. "Hey, order an angel shot if one of these guys tries something, okay?" He said with wide eyes. Virgil cackled in response.

"You got it," Virgil said with a smirk and pushed the empty glass towards the bartender who looked concerned. Virgil threw herself into the fray and joined the soon-to-be headbangers and dancers milling around on the concrete floor in front of the stage with what was probably a local cover band starting their set.

Between getting shoved around and the amps, she wasn't exactly sure which one was which anymore as the beat pounded into her. The bodies jumping to the beat with her smelled of salt and sweat and she cheered in the catharsis of feeling part of the group as they moved as one to the angry beat. She was a little dazed, a little hazed, and a whole-ass mosh machine.

Virgil was giggling as she stumbled into her dorm room just before 1 AM. Roman shot straight-backed suddenly at his laptop. Virgil's entrance must have pulled him from drifting. Seriously, what was with this human and refusing to sleep?

"Hey, who the fuck are you?" He asked as he turned to look at the disturbance. Virgil laughed and flipped him off, stepping into the bathroom.

"Your roommate, fuck face, what, you think I pinched the key from somebody?" She said and shifted her face back in the mirror and grabbed her shower bag from under the sink and a towel.

"My roommate is a dude!" Roman said, and he heard him stand. Virgil opened the bathroom door and chuckled at Roman.

"Are you sure about that?" She said with a little laugh and went through her dresser to pull out new clothes.

"What? Virgil? Is that you? You're-" Roman said, stumbling over his words.

"Stunning in lipstick? Yeah," She said with a laugh. "I'm going to shower. Wanna join me?" She winked and Roman sat stiffly and blushed. "Ha! You're too fun, Princey," Virgil said and popped her lips on the 'p' and walked out the door.

The shower water had pitiful heat, but the bathroom was at least empty at this time. Uncovered flesh would be a little hard on Virgil's willpower after all the alcohol and the bodies against her. She had to leave when somebody got some battle damage in the pit, but she had an amazing time. She was a little touch starved after being cut off from D so suddenly. Or just her life up till now. That was depressing. She needed to drop it; she went there to not be depressed. Getting shoved around in the pit was what she needed.

Virgil abandoned femininity and washed as thoroughly as he could to get any spilled stink of alcohol off of him. He couldn't sweat it out himself, but as a '19-year-old' he legally needed to not stink of beer. The dress was hand wash only, so he took it in the shower with him to wash and carefully wring the water out of.

Virgil trudged back to his dorm, items and damp dress in tow, in a bit of a daze. He could smell all the people on the floor now that bar smell and cigarette smoke aren't overwhelming him and it was driving him up the wall. Virgil stepped back in and hung his dress and towel to dry on the towel bar in the bathroom and put his shower kit back under the sink. Roman was still up, which Virgil found odd seeing as he didn't get much sleep last night. But mostly it irked him. Something in the room smelled incredibly sweet and delicious, and he had to put on his mask to deal with it until Roman fell asleep. Virgil sat at his desk, put his headphones back on, and put his feet up, trying to distract himself on Tumblr. But Roman was staring at him.

"What is it, Princey, need a nighttime story?" Virgil asked with a groan, rubbing his eyes, and making sure his mask was still on tight.

"I, um, I didn't know," He explained quietly, fidgeting with his hands.

"You're going to have to narrow it down, there's a long list," Virgil said and rolled his eyes.

"That it was you who came in? What are your pronouns?" Roman asked quietly. Virgil was confused.

"What are you talking about?" Virgil asked and put down his phone.

"You know, what you want to be called as?" Roman said and twiddled his thumbs. Oh. Right. He saw that gender was less strict these days. He didn't think he'd ever been asked. He generally just presented as one or the other with people and only switched with strangers or at home, alone. Deceit always just knew, and he never shared things that personal with anyone else.

"Oh, uh, it changes. Don't worry about it," Virgil said dismissively. "Aren't you busy being mad at me?"

"Just because you're upset with someone doesn't mean you should misgender them," Roman said softly and crossed his arms.

"I like that thought. I really don't think about it much, though, but if I've got my tits on, feminine pronouns is a good bet," Virgil said with a little chuckle. Roman blushed, possibly a little embarrassed. "I'm fine with masculine otherwise. It's easier for me,"

"Alright," Roman said slowly. "And, um, are you… queer?" He asked quietly. Virgil covered his mouth and laughed suddenly, which Roman looked confused at.

"I mean I was only half-joking about you joining me in the shower, but yeah. I'm a 'guys and otherwise' kind of gal," Virgil said with a little laugh. Roman's eyes seemed to widen at the 'half-joking' part.

"When did you figure it out?" Roman asked, eying him oddly.

"Oh, I've known for a long time. How about you?" Virgil returned the question before Roman could ask for any further details.

"Yeah. I'm not out, though," He mumbled. "I tried dating girls, and it just didn't work out. I'm not sure my parents would understand," Virgil rolled his eyes and stood up, moving to stand right in front of Roman.

"Do you have any idea how short human lives are? How quickly you can be gone from the earth?" Virgil asked. Roman looked shocked and confused. "How long are you going to waste it?" Roman bristled and his heart rate increased. "You pick how you spend your life. Nobody else," Virgil said with a twinge of sadness, thinking of Deceit. "They're not here. You're fucking free. You pick the closet or flying your flag," He said, resisting the urge to grab him. He smelled so damn good, even though the mask. "I know you're pissed at me for saying it, trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about," Virgil knew somewhere he was pushing it too far, but he was so thirsty and still kind of drunk and it was hard to listen to that part of himself.

Roman pulled back from Virgil, who was looming over him. "You're only a year older than me," He said bitterly.

"How about bribes? Do you accept bribes to get your head out of your ass?" Virgil groaned, changing the subject. Roman looked confused again.

"No, no bribe would cover the tuition my parents would stop helping me pay if they found out, jackass," Roman said and rolled his eyes.

"Done," Virgil said and sat back down.

"What?" Roman asked, deeply confused.

"I'll pay for your tuition. Then will you get your head out of your ass?" Virgil said with a dark laugh.

"You can't be serious," Roman said bitterly and sat back down in his chair as well.

"You have some specific cryptocurrency in mind?" Virgil asked lazily and pulled up his browser.

"You have to be fucking with me," Roman said.

"I definitely won't be if you keep pretending you're some kind of straight business major for your judge-y parents," Virgil said with a bark of laughter. Roman turned bright scarlet.

"You're drunk or something," Roman dismissively rolled his eyes and looked back to his computer.

"My money's still good drunk, you know," Virgil said with a chuckle. "What, you need living costs, too? I don't know about taking on a sugar baby drunk. That seems like it's pushing it," Virgil said and lolled his head back, kicking his feet back up on the desk and rubbing his face over the mask.

"Are you okay, dude?" Roman asked, looking concerned.

"Something just smells so damn good," Virgil groaned. "If you're going to be a brat, how about you go to bed? It's almost 2 AM, and you didn't have the good sense to not sign up for morning classes,"

"I'm not being a brat, you're just being a jerk," Roman said and huffed.

"Go to sleep, Roman," Virgil hissed. Roman's eyes glazed over, and he passed out at his desk with a thump. Shit, he didn't mean to compel him. Virgil groaned and got up to grab a bag of blood to heat. Once he slipped it in, he pulled back Roman's sheets and lifted him into the loft bed and tucked him in. Son of a bitch. He should probably shouldn't get at drunk as he did again.

Virgil slipped off his mask and bit into his blood bag, savoring the flavor as it relaxed him. He didn't bother closing the curtains. Roman wasn't waking up anytime soon. After he finished drained the bag dry, he closed up his laptop and saved what Roman was working on before shutting the lid. Virgil crawled up into his loft and turned on some music to relax in bed to wait out the rest of the alcohol in his system, already regretting tonight.


	8. Touches You

An alarm blared across the room and Roman groaned. Virgil watched him flail around for his phone, but it was still down on his desk below him. Virgil chuckled and crawled down from his loft to turn it off and pass the phone up to Roman.

"Here you go," He said with a smirk and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get rid of some of the garbage in his system. Virgil wasn't positive, but he thought he might have drifted for a bit while listening to music. The addition of energy drink fucked him up. He's lucky he didn't throw something like that up. That was definitely something he shouldn't drink if he had to go into recovery mode. Roman groaned from the bed again. Virgil finished up and took his now dry dress back to hang in the closet. Roman stared blankly at Virgil for a moment before recognition lit up his eyes.

"I forgot to tell you that you were cute in that dress. I know I was tired, but I'm sorry I thought you were a different person," Roman said with a yawn. Virgil had changed his face a bit, so he sort of was. He couldn't change his bone structure or anything, so it was kind of like a fraternal twin. He was banking on it being dark enough that Roman wouldn't notice the small differences. Which in hindsight was a dumb decision.

"Thanks, Princey," Virgil said with a little smile.

"What were we talking about before I fell asleep? It's kind of hazy," Roman said and rubbed his eyes. "You were joking about making me your sugar baby and I can't remember anything after that,"

"Ah, I was a little out of it, too. Not sure," Virgil said and settled back into his desk, loading up his computer.

"Hey, why don't you wear pajamas?" Roman asked. "It's weird that you sleep in your jeans and a hoodie," He said as he crawled down and headed to the bathroom.

"I don't need a lot of creature comforts," Virgil said as he flipped through today's news on his laptop.

"Says the guy with a tea collection and a mini-fridge," Roman said sarcastically and shut the bathroom door. Virgil rolled his eyes and continued catching up on the news. When he finished, he started browsing a music website to see if he could purchase some additional pads for his drum set when Roman came out.

"You want to come to breakfast with me?" Roman asked as he pulled some clothes from his drawers and shut Virgil's curtain. Virgil chuckled. He could go for some coffee.

"Not to that awful cafeteria," He explained sourly. "Smells like a mall dumpster,"

"It's not that bad. Do you go off-campus or something?" Roman asked, and after a beat, he pulled Virgil's curtain back open. The kid could change really quickly. Virgil shrugged at him. "You really are a rich kid, huh?" Roman asked, sounding a little bitter.

"If the Prince is jealous, he's welcome to come to blow some of my money at a coffee shop," Virgil said with a smirk.

"There's a coffee shop/cafe thing in the main campus building," Roman offered.

"Sure, let's get you some kind of horrifying breakfast sandwich and a dozen doughnuts, keep up that college diet of yours," He said with a laugh. Roman bristled.

"I haven't been eating that bad!" Roman objected and frowned at Virgil.

"Sure, sure," Virgil chuckled quietly. "I'm not judging, live your damn life how you want," Virgil said and pulled on his sneakers after Roman.

The little cafe thing was pretty packed. He wasn't the only one who thought the dining hall smelled bad; it seemed. Virgil got a black coffee and Roman did, in fact, get a breakfast sandwich, but he also got a fruit cup and a green smoothie. If Virgil successfully guilted him into eating fruit and vegetables, he was satisfied.

"I've never seen you eat," Roman said as he daintily picked at the fruit cup.

"I eat at weird times," Virgil said with a sip of coffee. It wasn't the worst, but certainly not great. "Not much of a breakfast guy, either,"

"Oh, my brother's like that. He couldn't sit down to a meal," Roman said and ate a bite of breakfast monstrosity.

"Oh, you have a brother?" Virgil asked.

"A twin. We're not that much alike, though. He's going to a community college closer to home," Roman explained as he ate. Virgil felt a pang of jealousy for having siblings. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No," Virgil mumbled. "Only child," Virgil looked away and watched the line for a moment.

"No wonder you're spoiled," Roman said with a laugh. Virgil gave him a little smile.

"Not sure you can complain when you're enjoying the benefits," Virgil said with a weak laugh.

"I'm not complaining, I'm savoring. I had to share everything with him for years. It's nice to be a 'me' instead of an 'us' for once, even if I love that idiot,"

"It must be nice to have a sibling, though. Less alone," Virgil said and sipped his coffee again. Roman eyed Virgil oddly.

"That's true. But it's not either one way or the other. There's such a thing as not enough alone," Roman said placatingly. He must have had this conversation plenty of times before.

"Fair," Virgil said, looking away again.

"Got the rich kid parents-were-never-around blues?" Roman asked and took another bite.

"Something like that," Virgil said and looked down at his feet. "I have a very small family," of one. He twisted his hands and missed Deceit again. "Sounds like the whole 'sharing everything'-thing was a bum wrap, though," He said, pushing the conversation back off of him.

"God, it really is. Shared a bedroom, shared clothes, shared the blame. Remus is a little shit, let me tell you," Roman said. Virgil raised his eyebrow at the name. "Mom's a theatre nerd, remember? Dad's a history buff and he loved the idea."

"Sounds like being a nerd runs in the family," Virgil said with a laugh.

"Remus and I are not nerds," He said passionately. "We were in trouble all the time in school. Remus liked to start fights and fires, and he never stopped running his mouth. I may have been along for the ride, but it's not like I was always trying to stop him that hard. I may or may not have started a dumpster fire, myself," Roman took an angry sip of smoothie. "Plus, dad's a history buff, but he was a star cross-country runner in college," Roman said proudly.

"Sounds like a busy family," Virgil said as plainly as he could, trying to not let his jealousy slip through. "When's your first class?"

"Oh, I have a bit of time. It's History in this building," Roman said and picked at his fruit again. He held it over to Virgil, shook his head, and Roman shrugged and ate another piece. "What do you have today?"

"I've got Art and Spanish later today," Virgil responded and Roman's eyes lit up.

"I speak Spanish!" He exclaimed. "Practice with me anytime. Mom said I'd lose it if I stopped speaking it for too long," Wasn't that the truth. Though perhaps not on the scale Roman was thinking of. "So that's 3 classes, what's the fourth?"

"I take 5. My other 2 are online. English and Calculus," Virgil said and eyed the sun sneaking ever closer to their table as the sun rose in the sky.

"Wow, no wonder you're always on your laptop," Roman said in awe. "I have Psychology, Communication, and English, other than History"

"Nothing for Theatre Arts?" Virgil said and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to join the theatre club," Roman said, exasperated. "They do productions throughout the year. You know, you're the quietest human being I ever met. I've never heard you take a step or even snore. You would kill it in tech if you wanted to join me. You've already got the look," Roman said with a laugh.

"I'm not much of a joiner, Princey," Virgil said with a groan.

"I mean, it's a club, you can quit whenever. You said you're taking art, right? You'll get extra practice building sets and such," Roman prodded. Why was he pushing this? He wasn't even talking to Virgil yesterday. "Just come with me Friday next week. I got a flier from their table on the quad this morning I can give you. You're clearly lonely. Theatre has always been like a second family for me," Virgil bristled. Roman had absolutely clocked him.

"Oh, come on, I've just seen you get all forlorn when I talked about my family. Sometimes you do it just sitting at your laptop," Roman said with exasperation. Virgil didn't realize how closely Roman watched him for someone who wouldn't even acknowledge to him yesterday.

"Fine, Princey, I'll come with, quit fucking roasting me," Virgil said and moaned.

"You leave a boyfriend or something to come to school?" Roman asked. Virgil couldn't stop his eyes from shooting wide. "Ha! Knew it!" He laughed.

"I already agreed to go join your nerd family, Princey, stick a fork in me, I'm done," Virgil said and moaned in annoyance. "If I buy you a coffee will you drop it?"

"Oh, yes, I want a vanilla latte with a pump of caramel," Roman cooed and picked at the last of his fruit. Virgil got up and threw out his empty cup and headed back to the counter. He bought himself a chai with a shot of espresso and Roman's sugar monstrosity. Roman was clearing up when he got back to the table, and he handed him the drink.

"Crap, I need to get my notebook from the dorm and head to class. I've got to run or I'll be late," He said and took a sip of the hot coffee and winced.

"The school store's right there, I'll buy you whatever you need," Virgil said and started headed in that direction.

"I thought you said picking up a sugar baby drunk was pushing it," Roman said with a chuckle and followed him to the store despite his small objection.

Virgil covered his mouth and laughed. "It's a banana, Micheal, how much could it cost?" Roman laughed with him.

"Well, you said whatever I need," Roman said, goading Virgil on. "And they do sell textbooks there,"

"I don't carry around textbook money on me, dude, but if you need some 50 cent folders, be my guest," Roman cheered with the humor evident in his voice and skipped into the store. Virgil plodded in behind him, hands shoved in his pockets and trying to avoid the sun coming in from the windows. Roman had picked out quite a few supplies, but Virgil just laughed as he checked out. Roman clearly loved being spoiled, and Virgil kinda wanted to be the one to do it. This idiot was growing quickly on him. It also wouldn't hurt to keep him happy and placated so he wouldn't watch Virgil so much. Roman smiled and waved as he headed off to his class with the bag of school supplies. Virgil walked carefully back to his dorm alone.

Virgil wasn't entirely sure what he needed to bring to art class on the first day. The supply list was basically everywhere. The class seemed to cover a wide variety of traditional mediums. He just shoved the whole toolbox of loose supplies in his backpack and the smaller sketchbook. The teacher probably would have sent an e-mail if he needed any of the larger things that wouldn't fit in his bag. At least that's what he hoped.

When Virgil got there, he saw some people had brought everything. The portfolios with the large pads were laying next to students at the large shared work tables they were sharing. He wrung his hands nervously. Should he turn around and get it? He'd probably lose his spot next to the door if he did. He could make it on time if he was quick, but the room only had the one table near the door because of the layout.

A smiling, freckled kid sat down in the other chair at his table. They had short curly dirty blonde hair and big round wire-frame glasses perched on their button nose. They were in overalls with a crop shirt and light brown boots that looked a little too big. They also wore just an unruly amount of bracelets. The kid caught him staring and extended their hand to shake. Virgil held up his hands and shook his head, and the kid looked confused briefly before dropping their hand.

"Hi! My name's Patton! They/them, please," They said with a big smile and a wave.

"Uh, Virgil. He/him right now," Virgil responded shyly. He felt like he was being bombarded with this kid's giant smile. He wasn't really used to this gender-inclusive treatment, either. Did it happen slowly while he was whiling away his hours in corporate hell, or did the kids just all say 'fuck it' at once? It was all really nice, though he felt kind of overwhelmed by it all.

"Oh, are you gender fluid?" They asked excitedly. Virgil paused.

"Um, I guess?" Virgil mumbled. "I really like your outfit," He added.

"Thanks, kiddo! I like your spooky style, too!" Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks," he chuckled. What a weird kid. He really liked it, though. They were like being in the sun, but without all the blisters.

"I'm an education major! How about you?" He said with a grin. Virgil considered putting back on his sunglasses to protect him from his shiny demeanor.

"Programming. Art minor," Virgil responded quietly.

"Oh, an art minor! Have you been doing art for a while?" Patton asked excitedly.

"Just a little sketching and stuff, I haven't done most of this other stuff in a long time," Virgil mumbled. He'd drawn for perhaps most of his life, and there was a good chance he did this other stuff a long time ago, but he didn't remember much. Art a great way to pass the time, but he had been too obsessed with music lately to do much. At least of his life that he could remember well.

"Well, I bet you're better than you think! I'm a newbie, myself. But that's the great part about an intro class! We're all here to learn," He said brightly. Virgil hear someone scoff nearby and ignored him. Virgil swore the arts attracted pretentious assholes, and it was always better to avoid them. "I've been thinking about a minor but since we don't have to pick one for a while, I thought I'd hold off. A minor would be good if I wanted to teach a specific class, but I just want to try new stuff for now!"

"That's a great plan, Patton," Virgil said with a small smile. "Life is too short to not try to enjoy it,"

"It really is! If you don't have fun then what's the point?" Patton beamed. The professor walked into the room and Virgil winced at the sudden noise as he pulled off his headphones. Patton watched him with a hint of confusion.

"Put away the big sketchbooks today, class, we have to cover the technical stuff before we start in on those big old things. If you only brought your small sketchbooks, you can take notes in them just for today, but for this week and the next you only need something to take notes in that isn't your homework sketchbook," She announced to the class and Virgil let out a sigh of relief with some other students who didn't bring their whole portfolio bags. Virgil pulled out his laptop and booted up the notes program he used. Patton had pulled out a composition notebook covered in stickers and shot Virgil a little smile before the lecture started.

The class homework entailed doing two sketches a day, and the teacher wanted at least 3/4ths of them from life. That was very doable homework compared to things he's had to do in the past, though he was nervous about messing up the drawings. The teacher swore they aren't graded on artistic ability, but just the ability to follow directions and complete the projects. But he wasn't so sure. Art was always subjective. But he wanted to know how to do this so he could have something new to do. Or old to do? He needed to be more confident. Patton cleared his throat while he was putting away his laptop.

"Would you like to go somewhere and hang out, Virge? I want to get to know you better!" They asked hopefully.

"I've got to go to another class," He replied a little sullenly.

"It doesn't have to be right now, silly! Let me give you my number and we can chat!" They said and excitedly scribbled their number on a heart-shaped sticky-note they produced from a bright messenger bag.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Virgil said with a hint of cheer as he took the note. Virgil slid back on his headphones and pulled his sunglasses out of his hoodie pocket and headed out to Spanish. He already missed that sunny little bugger a bit. There was something so soothing about Patton that he just couldn't place. Virgil got the feeling they were just as cuddly and clingy as Virgil himself had become. Not that he could get away with doing that easily. Being touch starved even affected vampires. Who knew?

Virgil texted the number once he had settled down in a seat near the door in Spanish to send along his number to them. Patton responded with a gif of a dog hopping around on his front legs and wished him luck in class. Virgil couldn't help but smile as he pulled out his laptop. Their enthusiasm was probably the only virus Virgil could catch.


	9. Clean

It had been a week since he met and was dazzled by Patton. They had been texting pretty consistently, too. Patton always seemed to have something to say or the perfect reaction gif. Virgil wasn't quite sure how they did it. Patton didn't seem to care that Virgil was awkward or sarcastic, even though it was basically Patton's antithesis. Virgil was stressed out by texting someone new at first, but they never poked fun at him for being weird. Perhaps because Patton was also weird, but in a different way than him. They were obsessed with animals, greeted everyone, and they over shared sometimes. But Virgil liked that about them. Being around Patton meant they handled the social niceties, and there was less pressure on Virgil. Also, Virgil wasn't the only odd one in the room.

Virgil sometimes felt like he stood out next to Roman, and that could be stressful. But Roman probably felt the same way about him. Every time Roman and Virgil would go down to the campus cafe, they would get some weird looks, and Virgil could tell that Roman wasn't oblivious to them. It amazed Virgil that there were two people who barely knew him who were willing to put up with him. Especially since they seemed to accept parts of himself he hadn't shared with anyone other than Deceit before. Not that he could be fully upfront with either of them, but it was nice to have friends that liked talking with him either way.

Patton had to go to class and had stopped texting, so Virgil was playing ukulele and laying on his bed to relax as Roman came back from his morning class on Wednesday. Roman grumbled and dropped his bag on the floor as he trudged over to turn on the tea kettle.

"Regretting that morning class, yet?" Virgil asked with the humor in his voice. He switched to a more melancholy tune to accent the joke.

"I managed it just fine in high school! I don't see how it's so different," He groaned.

"It hits different when you're in college, it's just the way of things. If you didn't stay up so late it wouldn't suck so much," Virgil said, partially singing along to his tune.

"How do you know? You're just as big of an insomniac as me!" Roman accused him. The kettle finished heating, and the smell of the black caramel tea filled the room.

"Ah-ah, why do you think I don't have any classes until 3 PM?" Virgil sang brightly and switched up the key again to a more upbeat one.

"You are so damn annoying with that thing. At least you're playing better," Roman said, and sat in his chair.

"It's easier when you're noodling simple sweet nothings than it is to play along with a complex song," Virgil sang gently along as he strummed.

"You have a weirdly soothing singing voice for an emo trash-fire," Roman said with a kind of relieved sigh. Virgil bristled and stopped playing. Crap, that's why he didn't sing.

"And that's our secret, Princey," He said and jumped down from the bed. Roman jumped at the sudden motion. "So you know what I do when I'm not studying. What do you do? You mentioned you needed quiet time to practice singing and lines in the agreement, but it's not like you're in a play right now," Virgil asked and looked at Roman's laptop.

"I'm a writer!" He announced proudly. "Kind of. I write plays and skits and short stories," He added, less boisterously.

"Does my royal roommate deign to share his writings?" Virgil asked, and stood straight with his arms behind his back, trying to look like a butler. Roman chuckled.

"Um, maybe. I kind of want to record my skits for the internet instead of showing them off as-is, though. I don't like showing unfinished work," Roman mumbled. Ah, insecurity, Virgil's siren call. He couldn't solve his own insecurities but if he could help with someone else's, he'd always give it a shot.

"What kind of camera you looking at?" Virgil said and dropped to the floor and sat crisscrossed in the middle of the floor next to Roman.

"What do you mean?" Roman asked, confused.

"My sugar baby needs the equipment to be a camwhore," Virgil joked with a dark laugh. "What kind of camera would you need? I am not a video camera person myself," Virgil explained and pulled a shopping app on his phone. He used to do photography but didn't bring his camera to school. Roman bristled and wrung his hands for a second until he caught himself.

"I haven't looked at them. I can't afford one so I never bothered," Roman responded somewhat defensively.

"So you want some kind of 4K thing with a microphone according to this article. Now, audio, I know. I can get you a great mic," He said and scrolled through.

"What are you talking about?" Roman demanded.

"I enjoy spoiling you. It's fun. Is this one good?" Virgil handed Roman his phone, and he sat up ramrod straight.

"Virgil, this is an 8,000 dollar camera!" Roman shouted. "I could never repay that!" Virgil took back his phone.

"So, no good then?" Virgil continued scrolling.

"You weren't kidding about paying my parents part of the tuition, then," Roman said, sounding shell-shocked.

"I think I offered to pay your entire tuition, actually. I was pretty drunk. How about this one?" Virgil handed Roman over his phone again. Roman turned sheet white. "That bad, huh?" Virgil asked.

"That's 12,000 dollars," He said blankly. "How much money do your parents let you spend?"

"I can get away with some big purchases," Virgil responded, shifting over to his desk to research what makes a good camera. Now that he was back with D, he had access to a serious amount of money, one that much dwarfed his own. It's not like D was retiring soon, he'd keep earning and wouldn't care if Virgil splurged out of his account.

"You're going to buy me a camera whether I tell you it's okay or not, huh?" Roman said somewhat despondently.

"What, of course, I wouldn't force something on you that you don't want. I'll be buying myself a video camera and a video editing laptop… And if you just so happen to want to use them, I won't stop you," He responded coolly. Roman loosened up and smiled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, if it's for you, I can show you specs you would be conceivably interested in," He said and stood up to lean over Virgil to look at his screen.

Virgil walked to class with the biggest smirk on his face as he hunched over in the sun. Roman was so excited and already talking animatedly about skits he wanted to try when the camera came in, despite not wanting to share them earlier. Virgil had to hunt it down on a website that accepted cryptocurrency, but he managed to get the specs that Roman wanted. He bounced around the dorm excitedly as Virgil left for his class. He might need to use his car to pick up all the packages headed to the post office. There was a surprising amount of equipment needed to record. They were going to take up a relatively significant portion of their remaining storage, even though Virgil opted to get everything as slim and collapsible as possible.

Logan came and sat down next to Virgil again and nodded in acknowledgment of his presence as he pulled out his laptop. Virgil smiled when he saw Logan pull up a small window of a book to read while he was taking review notes on his laptop. Virgil felt his phone receive a message and pulled it out to check. Maybe it was from Pat again. They had been texting back and forth about things they wanted to hunt down to sketch for their art homework before Patton left for class.

'Somebody's very happy today' with a heart emoji was sent from Deceit's personal number.

He sent back a kissing emoji and 'Enjoying having friends' he sent back.

'Oh, have you decided to stop being a gloomy loner this lifetime?' Deceit responded.

'Some asshole made me clingy and needy this time around' he sent back.

'Miss you too' Deceit sent with a photo of one of Virgil's spider toys on his desk at work. Virgil sighed inwardly and put his phone back. He squeezed Vladimir in his pocket.

"Are you also doing five classes a semester, Logan?" Virgil asked as it looked like Logan was reviewing notes from another class on his laptop, trying to distract himself.

"Yes, with my double major it is necessary. I will be taking more credit hours as soon as I am past the freshman restriction," Logan said without looking away from his laptop.

"That's true. Are you going for a master's?" Virgil asked inquisitively.

"I am considering it. It depends on the state of the job market when I get close to graduating," He responded evenly.

"That makes sense. I'm weighing the pros and cons myself," Virgil responded. "With how redundant this material is I think I might just buy some practical guides and start coding in my spare time. I think I'll wither away in the class otherwise," Virgil said with a sigh. "I feel like I'm just taking notes for an exam and not learning," Logan turned to face Virgil.

"I would be amenable to helping with that. I have some prior knowledge of coding in Java. We could perhaps embark on learning to code in C or another popular language in our spare time. We could discuss issues and share programs over e-mail," Logan offered.

"That would be pretty cool," Virgil hummed. Logan nodded.

"I will text you my e-mail when I get back to my dorm tonight," He said and faced back front when the Professor stood up to start the lecture.

Virgil was groaning and scratching his head at the monitor when Roman came back to their dorm later that night. Why were all of these programming sites worded so oddly? Did he have to learn an alternate version of English to learn C?

"What's got your goat?" Roman asked as he tossed his book bag under his desk.

"Why don't people just explain things plainly in documentation? I could find more information scrying in some glass orb than I could on this website," He growled.

"You've been too cooped up in here," Roman said as he pulled Virgil's curtain closed. "I'm going down to the gym. Come with and clear your head," He said from behind the curtain. After a moment longer he pulled it back open and he was in a pair of jogging pants and a tank top with a big star on it. Virgil sighed and stood up, grabbing a different hoodie out of his side of the closet and sitting back down under his desk and yanked his curtain closed to switch them.

"That's really extra, Tempest, are you trying to hide flabby arms or something?" Roman said with a chuckled and Virgil pulled his curtain back up.

"There's nothing wrong with flabby arms. I'm just secretly Frankenstein's monster and hiding the stitches," Virgil said with a little dark laugh.

"You don't have work out clothes? You're really going to wear a hoodie and jeans in the gym? You're freaking loaded," He said and rolled his eyes.

"That's my money-saving secret," Virgil said with a wink. Roman rolled his eyes.

"If we jog there, we could be warmed up by the time we get there," Roman said as they exited their dorm and started jogging down the hall.

"I didn't take you as a health nut, Pizza fan," Virgil said with a laugh as they headed into the stairwell.

"I have to keep my beautiful physique for the theatre, dear boy. You just need to leave your chair before you have a heart attack at 30,"

"Aw, you care if I die at 30," Virgil cooed.

"Well, I mean, if you want to will all your money to me then please feel free to croak!" Roman said as they jogged down the next flight of stairs. The gym for this building was in the basement level, but there was a big fancy one in the main building for the sports teams people could use outside of training hours according to the brochure. Which was probably why the one they entered was nearly empty. Just a girl on a treadmill and a guy using the rowing machine. Virgil pulled his cloth mask from his jeans and slipped it on.

"What's your poison?" Virgil asked as they walked in.

"I start with 20 of cardio," Roman said and jogged over to an elliptical without looking back. Wow, he's got a whole routine. Virgil looked around for anything that could actually mean something to him.

He didn't really need cardio without a working heart and all. There was one of those tension machines where the weight went very high that Virgil could use without alerting people to how much he could lift. Everyone here seemed pretty absorbed, and he probably didn't need to worry about it, though. Virgil sat down and adjusted it, trying it out. The weight was enough to feel it, but it wasn't exactly lifting a car or anything. He would have to rely on many reps if he wanted it to be productive. If nothing else, it was active and Roman was right that he'd been sitting in the dorm for too long. Virgil pumped up his music volume and started in on a few reps and tried not to breathe too deeply or listen to the labored breaths in the gym. It was a workout in two ways.

Roman forced Virgil to go to with him the showers before he 'stunk up the dorm room' and they were back to their dorm a little after 9 PM. Roman was completely scandalized when Virgil changed into a 3rd different hoodie after his shower. Roman laid on the floor and groaned.

"I need to rethink when I exercise. I'm starving now and the dining hall is closed," He moaned. "I'm so used to doing it in the evenings after school," Virgil laughed at him and looked up high-rated beginners coding manuals on his phone.

"Habit makes fools of us all," Virgil said patronizingly. Roman just groaned and flailed slightly on the floor.

"Virgil," Roman whined. "Share what's in your mini-fridge,"

"Absolutely not," Virgil objected resolutely. "In the agreement," His phone buzzed with a message.

"But I'm wasting away," Roman whined. It was Pat texting him, saying they were bored. He heard about a coffee place earlier Patton might be into because it had weird milkshakes and figured that'd be a great way to solve both his friend's problems.

"There's a coffee place just off campus with food if you want to go there," Virgil offered to Roman and invited Patton as well over text. "They're open till 11 PM and I'm headed there," Patton texted back immediately that they wanted to join him. Virgil slipped on his combat boots and grabbed his sketchbook off his desk. Roman crawled up off the floor and grabbed his shoes.

"Please don't tell me you are headed there to get another black coffee," Roman chided him and he hurriedly slipped on his sneakers to go after him.

"You know it, Princey, how will I keep up my terrible sleep schedule without it?" Virgil snarked as he locked the dorm behind them. Virgil headed towards the stairs as Roman turned at the corner for the elevator.

"You have to be kidding, I'm too tired for stairs," Roman moaned. "You were on that damn leg machine for more than 20 minutes, they have to be sore,"

"Don't underestimate my endurance, Princey," Virgil said with a flirtatious wink. "I'll meet you downstairs if you want to take the elevator,"

"No, I'll go with you," Roman whined in defeat. "I don't want you running off without me while I wait for that slow-ass elevator," He said and grabbed Virgil's arm. Virgil stiffened briefly, but when Roman didn't react oddly, he relaxed and helped Roman balance down the stairs.

Virgil and Roman had made it through the line pretty quickly at the cafe. Roman was enjoying chicken wrap and some chips with a peanut butter protein smoothie. It sounded like weird flavours together for Virgil, but he wasn't the best judge of that, not having a tongue that worked on human food. Virgil looked over when the front door chimed and watched Patton skipped to the table with a friendly grin.

"Hey, Virge!" Patton called. Roman looked up mid-bite and looked confused briefly. Roman possibly forgot that Virgil told him someone was meeting them there for a moment while enthralled in his food.

"Hey Pat," Virgil smiled back at the beaming, bouncing person before him. "This is my sugar baby, Roman," Virgil joked while Roman couldn't defend himself. Roman shot Virgil a glare as he finished chewing. Patton looked between the two, confusion on his face.

"I'm his roommate," Roman rolled his eyes. Patton smiled brightly at Roman and held out their hand, and Roman looked nearly stunned. Roman seemed to have the same reaction to them that Virgil did at first. Baffled and dazzled. Roman took their hand, and Patton shook it vigorously.

"It's very nice to meet you, Roman!" Patton greeted him cheerily and released Roman's hand.

"This is the Patton I mentioned," Virgil said and pulled his wallet out and handed Patton his new credit card. "Patton, by all means, go ham,"

"I couldn't take that!" Patton objected. "I was just going to get water,"

"I'm pretty certain he's just got some kind of money wasting kink, Patton," Roman said with a smile and took another bite. Patton looked scandalized.

"Hey, now, no talking about my kinks in front of my parent," Virgil objected with a small laugh. Roman looked supremely confused, and Patton lit up like a million watt light bulb.

"You really don't mind? I've gotta save for my tuition payment and that bubble-tea milkshake is calling my name," Patton said.

"I really don't," Virgil said with a smile. "Get 20 milkshakes for all I care," Patton beamed and took the card.

"Thanks, Kiddo! I'll catch ya next time," Patton thanked him blithely and went to the counter while Virgil rolled his eyes. Like Virgil was letting them spend any money on him.

"Why'd you call them your parent?" Roman asked as he ate a chip.

"You'll see when you talk to them more. They're just very… parenty. They're nurturing and full of bad jokes," He said. There wasn't really a good word for it. Parternal?

"I didn't know you had any other friends on campus," Roman commented with a little surprise in his tone. Virgil chuckled a little. He was surprised, too.

"Yeah, I know I'm swathed in a loner aura and all," Virgil said dismissively. "I think Pat picked me," He mused.

"Do you have any others that may bound into the cafe next?" Roman asked.

"No, no more friends. There's a guy I'm talking to in IT, but he doesn't seem interested in hanging out," Virgil said.

"You make friends pretty quick for someone who looks like they walked into an MCR concert and never left," Roman said and stared in on his second wrap.

"I just got lucky," Virgil said nonchalantly. He really did just get lucky. People didn't normally like him. Technically, they should run away. He's had an actual history of people running away when he did benign things in the past. Maybe emos are disarming? Maybe his friends were idiots? Maybe the world was so scary these days Virgil just didn't register anymore? He wasn't sure. "Did you leave behind lots of friends when you left for college?"

"Yeah, almost everyone in the theatre club. We have a pretty active group chat still," Roman said a little wistfully. "I'm a charming and charismatic guy, though, I can find new friends just fine,"

"You sure look like it!" Patton said as they sat down with their milkshake thing and handed Virgil back his card. "What are y'all talking about?"

"Princey's hoard of fans back home," Virgil replied with a smirk.

"Oh, were you famous, champ?" Patton asked brightly. Roman blushed.

"I was the lead in most of the plays I was ever in! I had a little fan following," He said, puffing up his chest.

"Oh, that's so neat!" Patton exclaimed.

"With your smile, Pat, I'm sure you had a following, too," Virgil said. Patton blushed slightly.

"I have great friends back home if that's what you mean," Patton said. "I didn't have a fan club or anything as cool as that,"

"How about you, Virgil? Have a vampire den back home?" Roman asked. Virgil couldn't stop himself from suddenly sitting very stiffly. Had Princey somehow clocked him? It was probably a joke, right? "I mean your assuredly very gothy friends, Virgil, you don't have to act like a deer in headlights," Roman clarified sarcastically.

"No, I, uh, moved around a lot," Virgil said and rubbed the back of his neck. It was really just Nancy he talked to at work. She was nice and seemed interested, but he never reached out to spend time with her outside of work. Virgil was worried it would seem inappropriate, and she probably was too.

"Aw, I'm sorry, kiddo," Patton cooed.

"No, it's fine, Pat. I didn't really make an effort," He said dismissively. Patton pouted but then brightened up almost immediately.

"Well, you have me now, buddy!" They said and pat Virgil on the shoulder. Virgil loosened up after Patton went back to their milkshake fervently.

"Yeah," Virgil breathed. Patton and Virgil shared a smile for a moment before he got flustered. "I haven't done my sketches yet for today, you guys mind?" Virgil said and pulled out his sketchbook.

"Oh! I still need one more myself, thanks for reminding me!" Patton pulled out their sketchbook from their brightly colored side bag. They both sketched in silence for a moment until Roman spoke up.

"You two look like literal opposites sitting next to each other. Patton is pastel royalty and you're a walking hot topic," Roman said as he examined both of them.

"Aw, I don't care what colors he wears, I can tell he's got a big heart," Virgil said sweetly, but Virgil laughed pretty hard behind his hand at the irony.

"Thanks, Pat," Virgil said and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I like your big heart, too," He said with a smile. "Don't worry Princey, I still love your royal pain in the ass," Virgil said. Patton looked scandalized. "Sorry for saying ass, Pat," He added and rolled his eyes. Patton chuckled lightly and shook their head, enjoying a sip of milkshake.


	10. Pardon Me

The three had walked back to the dorms together after they got kicked out of the cafe. Patton was on a lower floor than them and he rode up the elevator with Roman, who adamantly refused to take the stairs at this point, while Virgil climbed the stairs. Virgil was starting to get really hungry and appreciated the abandoned stair well as a break from the fact that his friends were growing ever more delicious smelling by the minute. Going to the gym with Roman might have been a bad idea. He did need to get out of the dorm room, though, and it was nice using his strength for once. Deceit would assuredly make fun of him for being such a masochist though.

Virgil sat down on the stairs at his level and leaned back. The stairwell wasn't as well sealed as the rest of the building and the smell of night air leaked in. It helped clear Virgil's head enough to have enough resolve to go back in there. Heading down the hall would be a nightmare. He briefly let himself imagine being back in Deceit's apartment, full of blood and cuddling. He knew he couldn't do that right now, but a person could dream. Virgil pulled out his phone and texted him the word 'talk'?"

Deceit's mental voice rang out quickly. 'I've missed you so much, Virgil,' he cooed gently.

'I've missed you, too,' Virgil thought with a sigh. 'You have no idea how hard it is to be around all this fresh meat,'

'Your dedication is impeccable, love. I can order some of those designer bags for when we can see each other again,' Deceit offered.

'Oh, god, yes. Please. So much.' He begged and leaned back on the stairs. 'Having something to look forward to helps.'

'Tell me about your new friends, dear,' Deceit thought. 'Any Vamps on campus?'

'I haven't found one yet. If some are, they certainly don't live in my dorm, anyway.' Virgil mentally responded.

'Human friends, then? Somebody's a masochist,' Deceit sent back playfully.

'I knew you would think that,' Virgil responded with a smile. 'Just my roommate and a person in my art class.'

'Your roommate, huh? Is he cute?' Deceit thought.

'Yeah, he is. I'm still deciding if he's hot or not. I've been leaning towards hot,' Virgil responded.

'Salacious. How about the other one?' Deceit commented.

'I don't know how to describe them other than walking in the summer sun but without all the boils,' Virgil thought. 'I've never met a human quite as energetic as them.'

'Yikes. And you want to be around that?' Deceit asked.

'I'm a new me. I'm trying new things,' Virgil responded. Deceit laughed in his head.

'Fair, darling. Let me know if you find any new kinks,' Deceit thought. Virgil laughed out loud.

'The kids these days do get up to things I've never considered before,' Virgil mentally sent back. He took a deep breath and sighed. 'I should probably go in my room. I've been hiding in the stairwell for fresh air. The sooner I get back the sooner he can go to bed and I can have dinner,' Virgil thought and stood up.

'How is that going? He hasn't caught you or caught on, has he?' Deceit asked. Virgil ascended the final stairs and into the hall, pulling his mask back on.

'No, he's observant, but kind of dumb and sleeps like a log,' Virgil thought. 'I haven't had any issues,'

'Lucky roommate match, then,' Deceit thought.

'I think so, too,' Virgil said and stopped outside his door. 'I'm going back in, wish me luck, love,'

'You don't need luck, darling, you've got this,' Deceit said. Virgil cut the link and headed inside.

"'Sup loser," Virgil announced as he came in and kicked off his boots to the closet.

"Got lost in the stairwell, huh?" Roman asked sarcastically. He was sitting at his desk working on his laptop again. "The key is to go up the stairs," Roman joked with extra emphasis on the word 'up'.

"Made a phone call," Virgil said dismissively and sat in his chair, letting it spin as he landed.

"I bet your legs gave out," Roman chortled.

"You caught me, Princey, I pulled myself up the stairs with my teeth," Virgil said with a dark laugh. He sat at his computer for a moment to check his e-mail to see if Logan has sent the links so he could have something productive to do tonight. Logan has sent them as promised.

Virgil span to face his synth and transferred his headphones from his music player to the piano and started to play, trying to distract himself until Roman went to bed in 2 or 3 hours. Virgil heard Roman's keyboard stopped clicking, and paused. Virgil turned to look at Roman, who was staring at him.

"I wouldn't mind listening, actually, as long as you don't play something that might get me riled up," Roman said and turned back to his computer. Virgil shrugged and unplugged his headphones from the back of the synth and started playing something gentle, improvising as he went. He never minded taking requests.

Virgil wasn't sure how long he was playing when he heard a light snore come from Roman. Virgil stopped playing and turned to see Roman's head bobbing while he was sitting up. Virgil chuckled.

"Fuck," Roman grumbled and yawned deeply. "I started falling asleep,"

"I noticed," Virgil said with a smile and watched Roman save his document and close up his laptop. Virgil closed his curtain and gave him some privacy when he saw Roman stand up shakily and trod over to the dresser. After a moment, he heard Roman crawl up into his bunk.

"Night, Virge," He said with another yawn.

"Night, Ro," Virgil said and plugged his headphones back into the synth to go back to playing until Roman fell deep enough to sleep to have dinner. Virgil couldn't remember needing to feed this much in his life. He might need to go twice a day if this much thirst kept up. He could probably feed while Roman was in class, but he'd have to get blood from a seller twice as much and figure something out for weekends. Virgil usually fed every 2 or 3 days. But then again, he was alone at his apartment and spent half the day alone in his office before. He'd need some serious willpower to keep going like this.

"I know I said I would go, but can I back out?" Virgil groaned as Roman dragged him by his sleeve out of their dorm room on Friday early afternoon.

"No, absolutely not," Roman said resolutely. "Come on, don your outdoor survival gear. The building with the small theatre in it is a longer walk than the main building," Virgil yanked his arm out of Roman's grasp and put his sunglasses and mask on and buried his hands deep in his pockets. "A little sun wouldn't hurt, you know," Roman chastised him lightly when Virgil fell behind. Virgil laughed sarcastically and followed him out. They walked for a while in silence, Virgil slouching and walking stiffly trying to keep from burning.

"Are we almost there, yet, Princey?" He said in annoyance and walked closer to Roman's again.

"Maybe you need to get one of those goth umbrellas," Roman quipped. Virgil groaned in response.

"They're too much of a pain in the ass," He whined. Roman laughed at that. They eventually had made it to big red brick building. Roman walked through the double doors and, finally, Virgil followed him down a dark half ramp into a small theatre hall with no sunlight. It wouldn't house more than 100 people in the seats. It also smelled pretty old and in general was a little shabby compared to the other facilities on campus. Virgil looked up and saw a catwalk over the audience. Students were sitting in the front rows and talking animatedly about their history with theatre. There was a table up in the front with a stack of papers on it. Virgil froze.

"Woah, woah, Princey, if I have to audition I'm leaving this second," Virgil held up his hands and stepped back.

"You won't have to audition for tech crew, Virgil, don't be a baby. They probably won't even have auditions for the cast yet. It's just a first club meeting," Roman rolled his eyes and sat upfront with the others, introducing himself. Virgil hung back in the aisle as he took off his mask and sunglasses. Something smelled off in here. He could smell varnish, steel, and cobwebs up in the ceiling, but there was something else intermingled with all the people. A person who was standing up near the stage also froze and sniffed the air. Oh, that kind of smell. They scanned the auditorium and Virgil gave a small, weak wave to let them know it was him before they potentially raised a fuss. The person excused themselves from the conversation and started walking towards him with purpose.

Oh, oh, shit. Virgil turned around to walk away as inconspicuously as possible, but Roman called out after him.

"You're not leaving without me, Virgil, you_ agreed_!" He shouted and went back to talking to the people near him when Virgil stopped. He squinted his eyes shut and prayed to Hecate he was making it out of this accursed building today. A hand reached out and grabbed Virgil's shoulder very hard.

"Can I talk to you?" The voice asked and Virgil nodded and the hand pushed him up the aisle and into the hall. The hand yanked him around and Virgil stood face to face with a tall boy with brown hair swooped around his head and a small cowlick, wearing an intense expression on his face and angry bright ice blue eyes. He was about Virgil's height and in a red leather jacket and a floral shirt under it.

"You're _talking_," Virgil bitterly said and swallowed.

"You aren't here for a mid-afternoon snack, are you?" He asked with an intense voice. Virgil held up his hands to show he wasn't aggressive.

"I came with my roommate. He thinks I'm perfect for tech crew," Virgil explained quietly. "I don't do live if I can help it," He said in a barely audible whisper.

"You have a human roommate?" The man asked incredulously.

"What would I have, a _woolly mammoth_?" Virgil responded sarcastically. That was a dumb question. The man in front of him dropped the tension from his shoulders and laughed.

"Oh, I had to put up with that last year. It was a nightmare," He said chuckling.

"Oh, Hecate, right? I'm thinking about doubling my dinner," Virgil said with a sigh.

"I had to. Do you have a hook up? I have one who delivers. Trying to sneak a cooler from some nondescript park to campus is a pain in the ass," Thomas said with a dramatic gesticulation.

"No, I was just using my Blood's connection a few towns over," Virgil said with a sigh. "I could use a closer one,"

"Oh, you're an _Alpha_?" He asked curiously. "I'm not sure, but I think you're the second one I've ever met," He said with a hint of quiet awe. "Oh, I'm Thomas," He said brightly and offered his hand. Virgil actually shook it for once.

"Virgil," He said and gave Thomas a half-smile. "For a moment there I really thought you were going to kill me,"

"I'm flattered you think I stand a chance against an Alpha," He said with another chuckle. "Here, give me your phone. I'll put in my number and my hook up," He said with a smile. Virgil unlocked it and handed it over. "His name's Remy and he's pretty chill. He's also one of us," Thomas said. He looked at Virgil quizzically. "Hey, your clan didn't come with you, did they? I don't think Remy's willing to do a lot more, he does that web thing and you're only allowed to order so much,"

"No, it's just me," Virgil said, shaking his head. "The only Blood I still have any contact with is Deceit,"

"Deceit? The Lawyer guy? No kidding. I would have sworn he was an Alpha," Thomas said with a little whistle.

"He should have been. If it were up to me, anyway," Virgil said with a sigh.

"Oh, the bond been giving you trouble?" Thomas asked. Virgil nodded slightly. "They say if you have more Blooded around it's less intense,"

"I'm not much of a turner. Personal agency is important to me. And lately, there are fewer people seeking out somebody to turn them," Virgil said with a shrug.

"Immortality just isn't as glamorous as it used to be," Thomas said a little sarcastically and they both laughed. "We should get back in there before your roommate comes to get you,"

"Yeah," Virgil nodded. "I wouldn't put it past him,"

"Tech crew, huh? You do have the look," Thomas said as they entered back inside.

"That's what Roman said," Virgil rolled his eyes. "See, Roman thought it was perfect because he never heard me coming," Thomas and Virgil both laughed. "But extra art practice sounds nice," Virgil added. Thomas smiled at that as they walked down the aisle. Roman raised an eyebrow at Virgil as he came back in but didn't leave his spot as they walked up on to the stage.

"Lemme introduce you to the current crew. Your roommate is _clearly_ adamant," Thomas said and led him up to a group of kids dressed in dark colors sitting on the floor on the stage. They looked up and Virgil waved weakly.

"Guys, this is Virgil. He wants to try crew. He's strong, quiet, and is looking forward to painting,"

"Thank god, most of the kids who did the painting graduated last year," Said someone in a dark jean jacket and black nails.

"Do you know him or something? You left in the middle of a conversation to greet him," One of the kids with a teal hair and a side shave said. Virgil and Thomas shared a look.

"He's a family friend, didn't know we would end up at the same college," Virgil said and shrugged his shoulders and sat cross-legged on the floor with him.

"So you ever done tech before, Virgil?" The teal-side shave said.

"No, I did track and chess in high school," Virgil said with a shrug. "I used to love watching plays, though. But I was distracted by SATs and haven't kept up with any new shows since," Virgil lied nonchalantly.

"I think we've all been there," the other emo-ish kid said with a laugh. "I'm Elliot, they/them, this is Kai, he/him," Elliot pointed to teal side-shave. "And that's Mitchell, also he/him," Elliot said and pointed to the one in the black jean jacket. "I know there's not a lot of us, but crew usually gets filled out by a few people who didn't make cast," Elliot explained.

"It's pretty refreshing to see someone interested in the back end of things," Michell said. "The people who don't make cast are fine and all, but it's obvious they're here for the limelight," Michell said. Elliot shot him a look.

"I'm not a limelight person. I'm a black-light person," Virgil said airily. Elliot and Thomas laughed, and Kai groaned.

"God, I see how you are friends now," Mitchell said bitterly. "He shares your shit sense of humor," Virgil gave a little smirk and shrugged again.

"Hey," Thomas said, but his objection was tinged with humor. Virgil looked around.

"This school has theatre majors," Virgil said. "I thought there would be more people here,"

"Oh, the theatre majors rarely join the club. They have their own productions they're busy with. Not enough time in the day," Thomas said dismissively. "They do three a semester instead of one or two like this club,"

"They just don't deign to wallow with us commoners," Mitchell said with a sarcastic laugh. "They have a big theatre with the big budget, why would they want to?" Mitchell asked rhetorically.

"All of my favourite shows were community theatre," Virgil said. In reality, he never wanted to enter the big theatres packed with people. "They don't know what they're missing."

"That's the spirit!" Thomas said and slapped Virgil on the back.

"I don't suppose you know anybody else who would be interested in tech, would you Virgil?" Elliot asked.

"I only know two people on campus that aren't in this room," Virgil said and rolled his eyes. "I'm not exactly a social butterfly,"

"That person you came in with sure is though, look at them_ go_," Kai said and pointed to the seats. Roman was posing and laughing with some other kids in the theatre seating.

"As far as I can tell, he's always like that. I can't decide if I'm amazed or annoyed at his skills. But he's got nothing on Patton. They could probably befriend a bear. Not just a leather daddy, but a literal bear," Virgil mused and others laughed.

The meeting started a bit of chatting later. They needed to discuss what play what they would put on this term. The club met officially on Fridays and Saturdays, but they clarified that it was there would be things on Sunday as well, including practice and tech training. They also met some weeknights closer to putting on the show, which was the first week of finals month. Anyone who couldn't make weekend mornings or put in extra time for the show for practice wasn't allowed to audition. This seemed to deter some people. Virgil had nothing else to do, though, and wouldn't mind an excuse to see Thomas again. Plus, it was clear Roman was joining, and he really wanted Virgil to be here for some reason.

Thomas hugged Virgil just before they left the theatre.

"Don't be a stranger, Virgil," He said with a wave and slid on a hat and some huge sunglasses. Virgil wasn't sure how he managed out in the sun. It was setting now and wouldn't be so bad, but he had to get here somehow.

"Dang, who's the hottie, Virge?" Roman asked with a little whistle.

"That's my_ cousin_," Virgil joked in a deadpan. It was worth it, Roman made a truly amazing face. "His name's Thomas," He said.

"Guess being a hottie runs in the family, then," Roman recovered and elbowed Virgil in the stomach. That comment flustered Virgil. He didn't expect his joke to get thrown back at him. Roman laughed and they headed out. "I'm going to the dining hall, you hungry for some coffee?"

"You couldn't pay me to walk in there," Virgil said bitterly.

"I couldn't_ afford_ you, I'm sure," Roman said with an equally bitter laugh.

"You're probably just going to eat that garbage pizza again, why bother? You know I'd pay for your real pizza elsewhere," Virgil said and rolled his eyes, veering back towards the dorm.

"If I accept any more money, I'm pretty certain my sugar daddy would start expecting _unseemly_ things of me," Roman said with a lilting laugh.

"Yeah, expecting you to eat a _real meal_," Virgil moaned.

"Aw, you care about my health," Roman said and fluttered his eyelashes, holding his hands together.

"I care about never smelling that 'pizza' again," Virgil said. "I'm going back to the dorm, have a nice piece of cardboard,"

"Oh, don't be like that Virgil," Roman groaned. "I'll brush my teeth when I get back, Mr. sensitive nose,"

"You have my eternal gratitude," Virgil said with a little salute and headed back to the dorm.


	11. Wishing Well

By Saturday, all of Virgil's online orders had come in. He didn't want to deal with waiting for the evening to pick up his car just to have to drive it back after a 20 minute trip to the post office, so he just grabbed a ride-sharing service and requested a car with lots of space. The dorm blessedly had carts to borrow so he wouldn't have to make a bunch of human trips to the car and back with all this fun junk he bought.

Roman was buzzing with excitement when he helped unload and bring the boxes upstairs from the rideshare. Much to Roman's dismay, though, Virgil left him alone in the elevator and took the stairs to meet him there and finish taking the carts. Virgil didn't do small rooms. Virgil had sent him to return the carts downstairs. Virgil wanted to unbox and plug in something before Roman could object. He set it up under the other end of the shared space with a little more than human speed, trying to beat Roman's return.

"You bastard, did you get another mini-fridge for yourself?" Roman said as he came back in, seeing Virgil get up from the corner on Roman's half of the room.

"This one's yours to use so you stop fucking pestering me about using mine," Virgil said, sticking out his tongue petulantly.

"You fucker," Roman insulted Virgil and punched him in the arm when he walked over. "Give me your credit card, I'm ordering us a pizza," Virgil laughed loudly at that response while Roman pulled out his phone and sat down at his chair.

"That's more like it," Virgil congratulated Roman and fished his wallet out of his pants. He was so relieved he didn't have to argue with Roman about this. Virgil squatted down to the floor and started opening the boxes. "Don't forget to order a drink," He added absentmindedly.

"Oh, I'm getting a liter of root beer," Roman said with a laugh and handed Virgil back his card, tapping on his phone. Roman looked up and around at all the boxes for a moment. "This will be a bitch to haul out to the recycling dumpster. Maybe we should have kept a cart,"

"I've got some twine somewhere with my art stuff, I'll handle it," Virgil offered and kept unboxing the various purchases on the floor. Roman joined him after he finished ordering food, excitedly extracting lights and microphones from their packaging. Roman was practically vibrating with excitement when he unboxed the camera. Virgil thought he would have shrieked, but Roman managed to keep it together. They placed the bulk of the recording equipment under the shared table in one of the bigger boxes from the deliveries. Virgil set up the new printer under his desk, carefully running the cables to stay out of the way. Roman had tried to set up the new laptop on Virgil's desk after pulling it out.

"Woah, woah, I'm not separating with Beeps," Virgil objected. "She's configured just the way I like her," His laptop was hacked and modded to hell to be as private as possible and let him on the vampire dark web as well as had a private satellite internet connection. It wasn't quite as powerful as the new one, but he wasn't going through all the effort of shipping it out to some dark web vampire to modify. "I don't have room for two laptops with my synth. If you don't want to use it, we can just put it with the filming stuff," Virgil said and protectively pat his laptop before returning to the floor to unbox his new drum pads and another pedal for his drum kit. Roman held the laptop looking extremely conflicted, his eye line shooting between his old laptop and the new one in his arms.

"Why don't you just use your old one as a school laptop and set up that one on your desk? You're a fast typist, it'd make taking notes easier than your notebook. You're probably going to set it up at your desk to edit eventually, anyway," Virgil offered as he gingerly placed the new pads in the box he kept the rest of his set in.

"But, it's yours," Roman said dejectedly, biting his lip slightly as he held out the laptop.

"I'll set myself up as a user later, just go ahead. You already had my permission to use it whenever you like," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. He appreciated the fact that Roman cared so much but it was a little annoying how stubborn he was. Roma lit up and went over to his desk with the laptop after being reassured.

"Alright," Roman said, pushing his old laptop over on his desk and plugging in the new one enthusiastically. He grinned in satisfaction when it booted immediately and focused on setting himself up as a user and installing software Virgil bought.

Virgil opened another box and pulled out a second, smaller black weighted blanket to wear at his desk, along with an extra locking mechanism for the door while they were out. Next, he pulled out an 'Emo Nightmare' desk placard and placed it face down behind his laptop for now. The last thing was a skull and crossbones with a biohazard symbol magnet Virgil slapped on his mini-fridge and started breaking down the boxes. Virgil appreciated the honesty along with the aesthetic. Roman looked up at the magnet and chuckled and returned to set up the laptop.

After a very satisfying series of forcefully collapsing cardboard boxes, Virgil stacked everything for binding. He twined the bundle all together and tied up the opaque black garbage bag of foam and packaging he had collected and headed out to the dumpster. The evening was pleasant with a cool breeze cutting the fading heat of the day as he hauled everything out.

Patton had texted while Virgil leisurely enjoyed the night air in the stairwell on the way back to his dorm. They wanted to know what Virgil was up to this evening, citing boredom. When Patton found out Roman and Virgil were ordering a pizza, they sent 6 gifs and 12 emojis, covering basically the entire emotional spectrum. Pat must really like pizza. Or perhaps have a complicated relationship with it. Virgil couldn't be sure. Virgil didn't really communicate in pictures that weren't memes.

"Hey, Ro. Patton heard we were getting pizza and about had an aneurysm, can they come over and steal some? I can order another pizza if you don't want to share," Virgil asked as he reentered the dorm.

"No, I ordered more pizza than one man should eat anyway. It should be plenty for the three of us. I got one of those insane pasta bread bowls, too, I always wanted to try one. I'll probably need to run a few miles even if someone else comes to help," Roman said and waved his hand in a motion probably signaling to go ahead. He hadn't looked away from the laptop screen. Virgil let Patton know they could come feast if interest was perhaps what they were trying to communicate. There was an excited knocking on his door a few minutes later over. Virgil got up to go let them in.

"Pat, the pizza's not even here yet," Virgil said as he opened the door. Patton excitedly held open their arms and Virgil gingerly leaned in for a hug, carefully avoiding skin contact. Patton squealed and they squeezed Virgil and walked into the room. Virgil watched their eyes scan the room as they stood a few steps from the entrance.

"Your room is so cool! My roommate doesn't have any flashy decorations up. It's in the roommate agreement that I couldn't put up all my posters," Patton whined, though only half-heartedly. Patton

"Virgil fully set up his half before I had even come in, he didn't give me a chance to object," Roman said snarkily.

"It's not like I complained about all the Disney posters and the banner you put up," Virgil said and rolled his eyes. Patton saw the ukulele sitting on top of the bin with Virgil's drum set and clapped lightly, but with zeal.

"Do you play, too?" They asked with great interest and reached for it.

"Um, I'm learning," Virgil said looked away, rubbing his head as Patton gathered it from the bin.

"I've played for years! I can help you if you like," Patton offered brightly and strummed a C chord, probably getting a feel for it.

"It's more about teaching my hands to not default to another instrument all-together, right now," Virgil said dismissively.

"Show us what you've got, Pat!" Roman said and swiveled to face them. Patton grinned and started playing 'Be our Guest' From Beauty and the Beast. Patton really was killer at the ukulele. Virgil was impressed. Roman lit up and started singing along, dramatically rising from the chair to dance next to Patton. Virgil groaned at Roman's extra antics.

"Do you not know the song, Kiddo?" Patton asked while Roman performed around the little dorm. Virgil rolled his eyes and turned on his synth and started playing the accompaniment to the best of his memory. Patton squealed and kept playing.

Virgil listened to Patton laughing behind him and Roman shuffling around the room, but Roman stopped singing when his phone rang. Virgil and Patton stopped playing as he answered it.

"That's the pizza downstairs," Roman said and slid his phone back in his pocket.

"I'll help you carry it!" Patton volunteered and put Virgil's ukulele back where they found it.

"Cool. We'll be right back, Virge," Roman said and waved. Virgil rolled his eyes and turned off his synth as they both walked out the door.

Roman and Patton were back a few minutes later with big grins. Virgil offered Patton his chair so they could eat at the shared desk with Roman. Virgil crawled up on his loft bed and sat cross-legged on it.

"Aren't you having any, kiddo?" Patton asked, looking up at him with a mouthful of pizza, Roman had barely finished putting everything on the desk against the window.

"He's too cool for food," Roman hummed as he poured himself and Pat some root beer into Virgil's mugs. "Never seen him eat even once,"

"I just eat when you're out, Princey, I don't like eating around other people. It makes me nervous. I'll eat later," Virgil groaned and pulled his weighted blanket over his head and cocooned in it.

"I'm going to catch you eating one day," Roman threatened sourly and took a bite of the carb monstrosity that was the bread bowl pasta dish. Virgil shuttered at the unholy abomination of sugar-heavy sauce and wet noodles in a rubbery-looking boule.

"Aw, don't spook him if he's got anxiety about it, champ," Patton said and smiled supportively at Virgil.

"Thanks, Pat," Virgil smiled a small smile back. "It's not a big deal. I eat at weird times anyway,"

"Oh, my roommate does that intermittent snacking thing. Something about it being the most efficient way," Patton said with a little confusion. "I don't understand how it's more efficient but if it makes him happy, I don't really care," Patton said and enjoyed a garlic knot. Princey really did order more food than one human should eat. Virgil watched Patton's eyes wander across the room again while they chewed and their eyes widened at the closet. Patton wiped their hands on a napkin and swallowed. They jumped up and crossed the room, pulling a dress out of Virgil's closet.

"I bet you look beautiful in this!" They said and swung around the other dress Vigil bought, which was a black fake-satin high low skirt gown with a red bow in the lower back. Roman looked over and watched Patton.

"I haven't seen him in that one, but he's real dang cute in the other one," Roman said with a laugh. Virgil blushed and was glad he was under his weighted blanket.

"I wasn't thinking straight when I came home in it," Virgil mumbled defensively.

"I never think straight," Roman replied and Patton laughed with him. Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. Did he decide to come out of the closet, or did he just trust Patton? It was conceivable that they had also been texting often after they met up at the cafe the other day, just like Virgil and Patton. They did act really comfortable around each other, already.

"I don't have a lot of super-showy clothes like my dresses, I'm more comfortable in hoodies," Virgil said and Roman rolled his eyes at that. "But, sometimes, I just got to be in your face about it,"

"Oh, I get that feeling!" Patton said cheerily, swirling with the dress and playing with the skirt. "Especially after I got beat up the first time. I came in the next day in a frilly skirt like this just to show them it didn't matter what they did, I was going to be myself!" Patton exclaimed with a firm kind of determination.

"Oh, Pat, I'm so sorry," Virgil offered in condolences. Who in the world could possibly look at this soft-hearted dork and want to beat them up?

"You never got bullied for it, Virge?" Patton asked. "You should know that stuff doesn't matter in the long run. I'm sorrier for them if anything!" Roman looked sympathetically at Patton.

"Were you not out at school? You seemed pretty confused when I asked your pronouns," Roman asked, looking for an explanation. Patton looked at Virgil with interest.

"I, uh, wasn't out in high school, no," he said. "I think other than you two, only one person knows,"

"Oh, does that mean you're still in the closet, kiddo?" Patton asked gently.

"Um, it doesn't seem like it's an issue here. I might give it a shot…" Virgil replied quietly and slid a little under her blankets again.

"Oo! Does that mean I'll get to see you in this dress?" Patton asked excitedly and swung it around again, playing with the skirt.

"That's more of a party dress, Pat, I wouldn't wear it to art and get possibly get paint or something on it, you can't clean stains out of that kind of material," Virgil objected. Patton looked disheartened.

"It's kind of an impromptu party, now, Virgil, we're just short the red plastic cups," Roman said and wiggled an eyebrow. "I think you might break their heart if you don't show them. I certainly would like to see," Roman winked. Virgil buried himself under the blanket. "All we wanna do is see you turn into a gothy woman," Roman sang.

"What?" Virgil asked, popping his head out of the blanket in confusion.

"Oh, we gotta watch that together later!" Patton cooed. "Please let me see?"

"Fine. Okay," Virgil said and jumped down from the loft bunk to the floor in front of Patton. Patton jumped back in surprise, clenching the dress. "I kinda already feel a little girly anyway," Virgil said dismissively and dug in her dresser. "That's more of an ensemble look, you'll have to give me a moment," She said and pulled out a long sleeve mesh top, some stockings, and her bust. Patton clapped as they handed Virgil her dress and she retreated into the bathroom.

"Thanks, kiddo!" Patton called from the other side of the door, sounding ecstatic.

"I hate it when she does that," Roman grunted. "How does she land so quietly?"

"She's like a cat!" Patton compared with a chuckle.

"I'm pretty certain I said the same thing. She hisses sometimes, too,"

Virgil yanked her clothes off nervously. She had never really done this kind of thing around anybody who actually knew her but Deceit. It was one thing to dance with strangers and another to sit with her new friends like this.

After getting dressed, she stared herself down in the mirror. Virgil wasn't sure it was the best idea to actually change some of her facial features like she usually did. But she would still change her makeup and try to soften her features like that with contour. She wiped her face to change her makeup and ran her hand through her hair to drop the volume a bit into her face. Gripping the countertop, she pressed her head into the mirror and tried to psych herself up for this. They already support her. They're actively supporting her. They're already even saying she. They don't think she's weird. She pressed her face in her hands and wished she could compel herself to not care. This stuff was so much easier with vampires that understand that gender is loose is normal for old alphas.

"I look completely overdressed!" She called through the door in frustration.

"Oh, your voice is so pretty!" Patton crooned. Whoops. Virgil guessed she changed her pitch unconsciously. Well, that cat was out of the bag and humans could do that, too, with practice. That wasn't a big deal. As long as she didn't show that full range, anyway.

"You've clearly already got it on, Virge, just come out here," Roman said. Virgil groaned and stepped out of the bathroom and held up her arms.

"Well?" She asked defensively. Patton and Roman were sitting and eating pizza and staring slack-jawed at her. When no one responded right away she turned around to go back to the bathroom. "You're right, it's dumb and too much-"

"No! I was just star-stuck, stormcloud, it really is an ensemble!" Roman said and stood up and held up his hand. "You're a tiara short of a goth princess!" Patton also shot up, their eyes twinkling. Virgil stopped in the bathroom threshold, crossing her arms as she turned back to them.

"You look so pretty!" Patton crooned. "I want a dress like that! Will you twirl and show the skirt?" They asked and held their hands together as if they were begging. Virgil sighed and stepped farther out to spin around, though she did it a bit sarcastically. Patton giggled and clapped their hands, coming forward quickly and hugging her. Virgil froze stiff with her eyes wide. "Oh! You're so cold! No wonder you always wear that hoodie, go put that back on young lady!" Virgil backed wide-eyed into the bathroom and grabbed her folded hoodie off the counter and slid it on over her arms. Holy Hecate. "I'll have to knit you some mittens!" They said.

Virgil tried to ebb back the panic rising in her. She didn't want Deceit to worry. Patton didn't realize. They just thought she was chilly. The longer she stressed the weirder this would be. She dug her nails in her palms and took a deep breath and stepped back out.

"Yeah, I have pretty bad circulation," She offered in explanation quietly as she came back out. "I usually go dancing in dresses, so I don't normally put jackets with them," She lied as coolly as she could manage.

"We should go dancing some time!" Patton exclaimed. "I've never been to a club yet!" They added animatedly.

"We'd have to find an under 21 club," Roman said with a laugh. "We can't all just wink at the bouncer to melt their brain," Virgil glowered at Roman briefly and pulled our her phone.

"Huh?" Patton looked confused. "I thought you could go into clubs at 18,"

"Not always. It's so the bartender inside has less to deal with," Virgil explained. "They'll mark your hands with big X's in permanent marker so the bartender knows not to serve you alcohol," Virgil explained.

"Oh!" Patton said and sat back down to eat more pizza.

"Not that you can't just wash off the marks the best you can in a sink and just flirt with a bartender for a drink, anyway," Roman said and shot a smarmy look at Virgil.

"We're underage! That's illegal!" Patton exclaimed and took a big bite out of a garlic knot.

"That doesn't stop everybody," Roman said and rolled his eyes. She bristled for a moment. Virgil was so old she didn't even know how old she was, she didn't care about the stupid alcohol laws here.

"Nobody's saying anything about us drinking, Pat," Virgil said and scrolled around on her phone for under 21 clubs. There was a local gay bar with an 80s night tonight that fit the bill. "The gay bar on pleasant has an under 21 80s night event on Saturdays," She said. "If you wanted to do it next weekend or something,"

"Why don't we do it tonight?" Roman asked and shot up over to his closet. "The night is still young. It should be just opening now. We could dance for a few hours and still be back by midnight," Roman explained and started yanking through his clothes quickly, on the hunt for something specific. Virgil was a little dumbstruck. "Especially if Ms. Wayne gets us a rideshare so we don't have to walk," Roman said with a laugh and pulled out a white silk shirt and two colors of vests. "Pat, you interested in burning off some off this pizza with us?"

"Heck Yeah! Can I look through y'alls clothes? I don't know if I have anything flashy enough for a club!" Patton exclaimed.

"You're welcome to mine, but you should just wear what's comfortable to dance in," Virgil said. "From what I've seen you have plenty of statement outfits if you wanted to dress flashy,"

"But, you're just dressed up all fancy and my clothes are more casual and I'm jealous!" Patton said with a little pout.

"Well, most of my clothes are black, but maybe Roman's got a bright top to go with one of my skirts?" Virgil offered and pulled out a few skirts from her drawer and a pair of opera gloves for herself. Patton picked the ruffled mini skirt and held it up in wonder. "Um, I'd wear some shorts or something with a skirt that short unless you want hands or eyes where the sun doesn't shine," Virgil muttered and pulled out a pair of black short-shorts as Patton paled. "Sorry, I don't have any mid-sized shorts," Virgil mumbled in apology. She only wore those for under skirts for the same reason.

"That won't really happen, will it?" They whispered, sounding scared.

"Drunk guys can be kind of handsy," Virgil said. "We'll dance close and protect each other,"

"We'll protect your honor, Pat," Roman said triumphantly as he was digging through his pants drawer.

"Pick a vest first or you may have to pick a new pair of pants, Princey," Virgil said while she boxed up the pizza and things to put in Roman's fridge. Roman made a clicking noise and stared at the two he pulled out.

"Pick the red shiny one!" Patton perked up. Virgil sat down in her chair and watched them.

"Alright," Roman said with a shrug. Patton was flipping through Roman's numerous tops.

"I can't believe you fit all those clothes in there," Virgil said. "You had 5 boxes of them,"

"I have many talents," Roman said as he sifted through his pants.

"I like this one," Patton said, holding up a sleeveless pastel blue top with a small chest ruffle.

"Nice choice, Pat! That's a cute top, Princey," Virgil said.

"A Prince has to slay," He said with a wink.

"You still wear T-shirts and a jacket most days," Virgil said, rolling her eyes.

"A Prince also has to not be late to class," He said with a huff. Patton giggled and took the clothes to change in the bathroom. After Patton changed, they twirled around the room to show off their cute scavenge. Now they just had wait for Roman to turmoil between picking which color of skinny jeans to wear. There were pacing and dramatics involved, but Roman eventually got there and chose the black pair over the red.

Roman gave himself and Patton a cat-eye eyeliner in the bathroom as a final touch while Virgil had summoned a rideshare for them to take. She would leave her jacket upstairs since the others would find it odd if she wore it to dance. She hoped she hadn't dug her own grave and relied on a pair of opera gloves and sitting in the front seat of the ride-share service so she wouldn't bump her cold shoulders with them in the rideshare on the way over. She hadn't fed yet, but she did just fine at the club last time. Virgil could claim she was hemophobic or leave for fresh air if another cut on the dance floor happened. Virgil couldn't contain her worry, but she was also pretty excited to get out and move after a week of mostly sitting around. Virgil switched her headphones for earplugs and they chatted boisterously as the trio went downstairs to catch their lift.


	12. Kicking and Screaming

Outside of the club, Virgil handed Patton and Roman each $10 for the cover and hung behind them so they wouldn't notice when she didn't get x's on his hands at the door. The bouncer nodded and handed back her ID and she stepped in quickly. Patton had entered and basked in awe at the flashing lights and pounding 80's remix playing. They ran straight for the dance floor and Roman chased after them, likely to make sure they didn't get in trouble. Virgil slinked over to the bar quickly.

"Hey, two top-shelf vodkas?" Virgil ordered from the bartender said and placed a $40 on the bar. The bartender nodded and served her up quickly thanks to the tip, though it helped it wasn't busy yet. She downed the shots as soon as they were pushed towards her. She didn't want her friends to question why she was taking so long to get to the dance floor, and the bar was barely obscured from the dance floor. She had never could loosen up enough to dance sober and needed the 'liquid courage', even though she was old enough to know better than to do this.

When she got over to the lighted floor, though, she couldn't help but laugh at Roman doing a fake tango with Patton. Virgil watched them for a moment until the alcohol had hit enough for her to move to the beat. She danced close enough to be with them, but with enough distance to not get punched in the face with their silly dance. There wouldn't be room for that later when it filled up, and she wanted to let them go wild while they could. Space to dance was the nice part about showing up early if that was your favourite part of clubbing. Roman twirled Patton dramatically, and Patton had to stop dancing because they couldn't stop giggling. Virgil watched Patton nervously as they were doubled over for a moment. But Patton got back to dancing pretty quickly while still tittering. Virgil smiled and returned to the beat.

Princey really had some moves, and Virgil was really enjoying watching his friends dance. Patton wasn't exactly a skilled dancer, but they danced like they were having the time of their life and that was very infectious. It got easier to dance with them the more she watched them have fun with reckless abandon. Patton must really like 80s music because they were so excited about each new song and sang along often. They had gone through a few songs when Virgil saw that Patton was sweating pretty heavily now, and even Roman's forehead was moist. Ah, hydration. The universal challenge of the club scene for everyone.

"Why don't you guys get a booth, I'll get cold drinks," She loudly instructed them over the music. Roman nodded and Patton pouted slightly but looked relieved nonetheless. Virgil went over to the bar and ordered two virgin daiquiris, a vodka soda, and two glasses of water. Another large tip got them served to her pretty fast.

"Holy crap, how did you balance all that?" Roman shouted as Virgil walked up, carefully carrying the 5 drinks as she walked over to the booth Roman and Patton had claimed.

"Skills, Princey, I have many skills," She said proudly and pushed the two Virgin daiquiris and waters towards the others. Patton eyed it in confusion and looked up to Virgil curiously.

"It's a virgin daiquiri. It's basically a strawberry slushie. No alcohol, just sugar syrup and ice," Virgil explained and took a sip of her Vodka soda. "Keep your hand on it and if you get up and we're not watching it, don't drink anymore," Virgil added. She remembered this was Patton's first time at a club and they might not know this stuff. Just because she could handle being drugged doesn't mean she could handle not murdering anyone who tried to touch her friends. Patton nodded and took a sip. They looked enamored with it and took a giant drink and got brain freeze right away. Roman and Virgil both laughed as Patton held their head and chuckled. The trio chatted animatedly in the booth while they enjoyed their drinks. Virgil was careful to keep her glass obscured from Roman's view. She didn't feel like getting judged again for drinking, and a vodka soda only seemed like tonic water until you smelled it.

Patton had to use the restroom, so Virgil accompanied them while Roman waited outside the door, and then they returned to dancing their asses off. 'Holding out for a Hero' came on and the trio belted out the lyrics along with the song as they danced. Virgil wasn't entirely sure why she was so worried anymore. She was having a good time, and she'd made it home safe from the club before. But mostly she wasn't really worried about people looking at her anymore. She wasn't interesting next Patton and Roman, who were fun to watch just for the dichotomy of dancing skills alone. Virgil grabbed Patton's hand and spun them quickly, which caused giggled to bubble back up from Patton. Patton's giggle gave her the courage to briefly lead Roman in a waltz pattern. Roman, very surprisingly, knew what he was doing and smiled brightly at her while they danced.

They had taken a second break with fresh waters, but the club was getting too packed for them to find a booth. They just leaned against the wall and chatted for two cups of water while Roman and Patton caught their breath. Patton wanted to head back out when 'Barbie Girl' came on, though, and they abandoned their part of the wall for the dance floor again. The floor was pretty packed at this point, so they danced with much less of a wide berth this time. One or two people had scooted close, but Virgil had successfully glared them away. She wasn't having it tonight. She was having a good time, damnit.

When 'Hungry like the Wolf' came on, Virgil broke out in a loud dark laugh. She was certainly getting there. The sweat and hearts pounding in the tight area were already scratching at her throat. The metal bar had an open-air floor. This was a little intense in the hot, sealed room. She was distracted from her thirst when Roman had started singing along in a wild Zap Brannigan impression. She choked on another wild laugh in surprise. Patton was bouncing and clapping to the beat with a giant grin at Roman. Virgil struggled to stop laughing, holding her stomach and trying to be serious. But Roman seemed to go even more over the top to thwart her efforts of reining it in. Virgil was nearly settled by the end of the song, but a wink and a pose from Roman dissolved her into another giggle fit.

But when the song ended, back to another 80s remix of a few songs, controlling herself was just a little harder. All the smells and heartbeats were wearing on Virgil's thirst. Virgil couldn't stop herself from hissing when another drunk idiot's hand wandered a little too close to her. He backed up with his hands in the air with a nervous chuckle, and Virgil held her head. Roman and Patton shared a glance but had laughed it off. Virgil sighed and shrugged at Patton and Roman.

"Yeah, I think I'm at my limit with the loud noises too, kiddo. Let's head home," Patton said loudly over the music. Virgil winced when Patton placed their hand on her lower back and led her off the floor. Virgil pulled out her phone to summon them a car as they pushed their way off the dance floor.

"That was so fun!" Patton shouted when they stepped outside. "I loved the slushie!" They giggled and shimmied lightly to the music coming through the walls.

"The sugar kick was a great dancing pick me up. But I'm thinking about cold pizza myself," Roman said, also way too loudly. Virgil should have given them both some earplugs. She was too busy freaking out about Patton noticing how cold she was to think about it, before.

"Oh, my gosh! I didn't realize how hungry I was until you mentioned it!" Patton exclaimed. "Cold pizza sounds amazing!" A car pulled up and Virgil verified the plate and held open the back seat for them and climbed in front. Patton and Roman chattered loudly in the back while Virgil wrung her hands quietly, trying to settle down the erratic feeling and the burning in the throat.

Virgil put her hoodie back on and sat on the floor under her loft while Patton and Roman went in voraciously at the pizza and water bottles Virgil had bought them from a vending machine downstairs. Patton was laughing about something. She was listening at first, but her head was swimming and she lost track of what they were saying. Patton stopped laughing suddenly and came a little closer to her.

"Hey, are you okay, kiddo?" Patton asked as gently as they probably could from someone's whose eardrums might be damaged from the ridiculous volume at the club.

"Huh?" Virgil said, somewhat dazed. She was so unbelievably thirsty. She didn't have time to have any blood this afternoon since Roman was in the dorm all day after breakfast. He must have been too excited about picking up the recording equipment later that day and forgot to eat lunch. Virgil held her head. Roman and Patton smelled so unbelievably good she almost felt dizzy.

"You want me to make you some tea?" Patton asked, and Virgil nodded mutely. She was a little scared to open her mouth and taste the air, and tea smells might help mute their smells. Roman carried a mug to the bathroom sink to presumably wash it while Patton clicked the kettle on. "The loud noises are kind of intense, huh?" Patton asked, squatting on the floor a few feet from Virgil. She nodded again and was thankful Patton was giving her some space.

"Yeah," She agreed distractedly. "My ears are still ringing,"

"You should wear those noise-canceling headphones of yours next time," Patton suggested calmly.

"I didn't want to look weird wearing headphones at a club," Virgil grumbled in explanation.

"Your health is more important than looking a little silly," Patton smiled compassionately.

"You're sweet, Pat," Virgil said with a sigh. Literally. They smelled really sweet. Hecate please save her from this hell. Virgil caught herself staring as their throat when they stood to pour her a cup of tea. She shook her head and sighed as she accepted the mug.

"I'm gonna go shower, gang, I got all sweaty. I'll wash these and give them back soon," Patton said and gestured to their outfit. "I had an awesome night, thanks for inviting me out!" They said as they gathered the folded clothes they left from their outfit earlier.

"It was your idea, Pat," Roman said and rolled his eyes humorously. "But yeah, I had a great time. Talk to you tomorrow," Roman said and waved them off. Roman shrugged off his vest and carefully folded it over the back of his desk chair. "You all right down there, Virge?" Roman said, looking down at Virgil with concern.

"Yeah, I have tea," She said as calmly as she could manage.

"Shoot, this top is all sweaty, and it's hand wash only," He muttered and slipped off his silk shirt, examining it. The smell hit Virgil in the face like a brick. AB-negative. He was AB-negative. That's what the smell was that had been driving her up the wall. That delicious smell she's been smelling for days. Virgil clapped her hand over her face and stopped breathing. "I think I will go hit the showers, too," Roman said distractedly, grabbing a pair of pajamas from his drawers. Virgil couldn't stop staring at him. When Roman turned around, he looked concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay, Virge?" He asked and came closer. "I think there's something wrong with your contacts. Did something get in there at the club?" Roman said, examining her face in confusion. Virgil's throat was burning like she drank acid.

'Don't come closer, please,' Virgil tried to plea with her eyes as she nodded in confirmation. Roman squatted down in front of her.

"Are you feeling sick or something?" Roman asked. His hand reached out for her forehead. It didn't make it that far.

Virgil was on top of him, pinning him to the ground and drinking from his neck before she could even register what was happening.

"What the fuck, Virgil?" Roman cried out and struggled under him. Virgil snapped to her senses and licked the wound to heal it. She crawled off of him and held herself in panic. "Did you freaking bite me?" He asked in a half shout. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Please stop yelling," She whispered and squeezed herself tightly on the floor.

"Please explain why the fuck you bit me!" He shouted back. Virgil would have cried if she was capable.

"Forget it and go shower," Virgil compelled Roman tonelessly. Roman's expression turned blank. He finished grabbing his showering things and left to shower. Virgil sobbed tearlessly, holding herself on the floor.

'Virgil, what is happening?' Deceit popped up in her head. 'Why are you freaking out?'

'I fucked up real bad, D. I fucked up real, real bad,' Virgil thought.

'What the hell happened?' Deceit asked again, more desperate.

'Roman's AB-negative,' she thought despondently.

'Wow, really? That's got to be hell to live with.' Deceit thought in camaraderie. 'Why are you freaking out, though?'

'I went dancing with him' Virgil started to mentally explain.

'I'm still not following, dear,' Deceit thought shortly, a little annoyed.

'I was really thirsty when we got back,' Virgil thought sadly.

'Did he catch you feeding or something?' Deceit asked mentally.

'I made Roman my Brood' she thought, wishing with all her might she could take back the last 5 minutes of her life.

'Oh, fuck,' Deceit thought. "That's a twist,"

'I really tried hard, D! I tried so hard! It's been ages since I slipped up! What the fuck am I supposed to do!' She thought desperately in her head.

'Well, it's not like you drained him,' Deceit thought calmly. 'Just don't give any orders,'

'What about the bond?' Virgil thought bitterly.

'It's supposed to be milder with brood, it'll probably be like instant best friends kind of thing,' Deceit thought. 'I mean, you could have sex with him now without hurting him… much. You're always a little rough,' Deceit thought with a laugh.

'This isn't funny! He had no say in this!' Virgil shot back.

'It was an accident and now he's stronger and heartier and healthier. Most humans would pay good money for that. It'll be fine, just buy him some soup tomorrow and watch out for him while the venom works its way through him,' Deceit thought placatingly.

'There's another vampire here and we see him next Friday and he will know I bit him and get pissed!' Virgil thought angrily.

'Virgil, you realize every vampire has accidentally killed a mark, right? Brooding your roommate isn't the end of the world. If you explain what happened, they'll probably understand,' Deceit thought calmly. 'It might have even been inevitable,'

'Don't think that!' Virgil shot mentally.

'Virgil, have some blood and settle down. I promise it's really not as bad as it seems,' Deceit thought. 'Do you want me to come down and see if he suspects you?'

'Yeah, maybe. Maybe I should just tell him,' Virgil thought. 'So I can apologize,'

'Darling, you're emotional right now. Don't make any big decisions like that. Perhaps you could breach the subject slowly? Lots of humans seem to like the idea of vampires since they got popular in movies,' He thought. 'I'll be there soon.'

Virgil slowly rose and went over to the fridge to grab a bag to warm. Virgil stripped down and threw everything in the laundry basket with a deep sigh. He grabbed his shower things quickly and followed Roman to the showers after a quick dinner.

Virgil heard Roman singing in the shower as he walked into the shower room. He picked a stall far away and tried to bathe as fast as possible. Virgil cringed and washed the bar smell off so he could get back to his dorm as soon as possible and pretend to be asleep.

Virgil buried himself under both weighted blankets on his bunk. Roman came in only a few minutes after Virgil. He chuckled slightly and turned off all the lights and went to bed himself. The bond with Deceit hit him a short while later.

'I'll let you know when he's in deep sleep so you can come in, okay? Just hide out in the stairwell or something,'

'It's nice to feel you again too, dear, and all that horrible pit in your stomach,' Deceit thought sarcastically.

'How am I supposed to feel good about his?' He thought bitterly. 'Brood are walking lunch bags,'

'You don't have to feel good about it, just neutral. And we both know you will not treat him like that, even if he gets overwhelmed by the compulsion,' Deceit thought sternly. 'It's really not the worst thing that could have happened. You could have drained him. He's type AB-negative, it's amazing somebody didn't drain him already. Actually, now that he's marked he's no longer at risk of some unlucky paper cut with the wrong company killing him,'

'He's starting to lightly snore. Maybe another 10 minutes,' Virgil thought. Roman went out pretty fast. Possibly from all the dancing. Or maybe because of his venom already starting to work.

'I'm right and you know it,' Deceit thought back angrily, upset at Virgil not acknowledging him.

'You're right about that but that doesn't mean it was right for me to do it!' Virgil shot back.

'Listen, sunshine, life doesn't go the way you want it. Sometimes you slip up and make your new friend slightly superhuman,' Deceit thought moodily.

'Okay, when you word it like that it sounds a little less serious. I did accidentally compel him when I was drunk already, and all that happened was he got another hour of sleep than he would have,' Virgil thought, feeling slightly more lighthearted.

'Sounds like you're a good influence, then,' Deceit thought passively.

'Other than the fact that I'm a bastard who didn't get consent to literally change his body!' Virgil thought and spiraled all over again. 'You know you'll be stuck linked to him, too, I didn't even get your permission!'

'Darling, settle down or you might wake him up. I don't remember if the bond kicks in after the venom does or not. I never minded sharing you, darling,' Deceit sent soothingly. 'I'm cuddling the shit out of you until he stirs. Look forward to it,' Roman's snores deepened, so Virgil got up and Virgil silently stood on the edge of the ladder to look at his eyelids.

'Okay, I just checked, and he's in REM. Come on up,' Virgil thought. Deceit had been at the door as soon as Virgil went over to unlock it. He nodded at Virgil and silently stepped over to read Roman.

'So, good news,' Deceit thought.

'Spit it out, D,'

'His brain wasn't sure what to do with the broken memory, so you're pining him and giving him a hickey. You gave him a wet dream, not a monster nightmare. He doesn't suspect a thing. He just thinks you're exceptionally weird. He also thinks you're exceptionally hot, so maybe you should make his dreams come true and hit that,' Deceit said with a mental laugh and they climbed into Virgil's loft. Deceit pulled Virgil close and silently kissed him. 'He's really not an eyesore himself,' Deceit added after a pause.

'Thanks, D. Just because he thinks I'm hot doesn't mean he wants to do that, though,' Virgil thought and kissed him back.

'I cannot stress enough that you are now actively going down on him in his dream,' Deceit said and flicked Virgil's nose. 'I think he doesn't just want make outs,' Virgil rolled his eyes.

'It's a dream, D. I'm glad the memory was re-written and all, but dreams aren't reality. If he's interested, he can make the first move. Especially after I fucked up with him twice, I don't want to sway his decisions any accidentally with this stupid alpha shit,' Virgil thought and nestled his head against Deceit's chest. 'He deserves to choose,'

'Oh, who's the bubbly one in a skirt?' Deceit said. 'Because Roman also thinks they're hot.'

'That's Patton. They're friends with both of us. Maybe Roman's years of repression is coming back to bite him in the ass with wet dreams about his friends,'

'I think Roman might like it if you bite him in the ass,' Deceit thought, paired with mental laughter.

'I'm not biting him again unless he's okay with it,' Virgil thought sourly.

'Oh, not never biting him again?' Deceit thought.

'Roman's full of liquid crack. If he said it was okay, I'd never buy another bag again,' Virgil thought. 'He tastes so unbelievably good that if I let myself focus on it I may go a little insane,'

'You're already a little insane, love, nobody lives as long as you have and keeps all their sanity,' Deceit said with a gentle pat.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence,' Virgil thought bitterly.

'You're the masochist who wanted to go to school with thousands of delicious blood fountains instead of an online degree,' Deceit mentally mused.

'Universities look better on your resume,' Virgil thought quickly in defense.

'You can just admit you hate yourself,' Deceit thought and pulled him up for a gentle kiss. 'And that you have the hots for some people here,' Virgil crossed his arms.

'I think I'm bad at friendship if I'm wanting all this contact and romance from people I barely know,' Virgil thought bitterly.

'I think you isolated yourself for too many years and crave affection,' Deceit thought and softly kissed Virgil again.

'Your gift must make it impossible to date,' Virgil thought with a mental chuckle.

'You have no idea,' Deceit mused. 'We turned don't get amazing gifts like Alphas do. That you almost never use,'

'There's no way there's not unindented consequences with something like that!' Virgil thought angrily.

'Unless there were some consequences you didn't tell me about, it seemed fine at the club a few weeks ago,' Deceit thought airily.

'I barely used it,' Virgil thought bitterly.

'And yet, you're still anxious about it,' Deceit thought. 'Come on, love, try to stay even timbered so you don't wake your roommate,'

'Speaking of which, you think you could manage to unlock Roman's phone to turn off his alarm?' Virgil thought. 'It would be better if he slept through most of it,'

Deceit hugged Virgil and hopped down, grabbing Roman's phone from next to his pillow.

'Unless he dreams about his password, we'll just have to guess. I'll try the normal ones,' Deceit said and started tapping. He made it in on the second try. 'It was 1212. He needs better security.' Deceit thought and clicked through to turn off his alarm. 'Who wants to wake up on a Sunday at 9 AM with no classes, anyway. He probably forgot to turn it off,'

'Oh, his weekday alarm is 7 AM. This is a whole two hours extra of sleep,' Virgil chuckled in his head. Deceit returned his phone and headed back up to Virgil when Roman shifted and rolled over.

'Shit, he left REM,' Virgil thought quickly.

'That's my sign to leave. I love you, darling. If you freak out again, just contact me instead of doing anything rash,' Deceit thought and left quickly, Virgil climbing down and locking the door behind him. Virgil settled in at his desk, leaving the curtain open to monitor Roman. Virgil went back to learning to code to distract himself from how badly he fucked up. There seemed nothing else better to do.


	13. Stone Cold

Virgil finally saw Roman start to shift in the early afternoon. Roman groaned loudly and sat up slowly in his loft bed. He rubbed his face and Virgil watched his eyes slowly adjust to the room. Roman took a deep shuddering breath and placed his hands on the bed and the wall next to him, steadying himself. His lips were so dry that they pulled apart when he started to speak.

"I feel like I've been hit by a bus," Roman moaned and rubbed his head.

"Maybe you caught something from a bastard at the club?" Virgil supplied. But Virgil knew that he was the only bastard who did this to him.

"Everything hurts," Roman moaned and leaned against the wall, pressing his face gently against it.

"I'll order you some soup and crackers," Virgil said and pulled out his phone to place an order.

"And a sports drink. Lemon-Lime," Roman groaned and sat back up again. He looked around and eyed the ladder suspiciously. "These fucking lofts aren't very sick friendly, are they?" Roman said bitterly. Virgil ordered the food plus a fruit cup.

"Do you need help down?" Virgil asked and stood up.

"Just stand next to the ladder so I can have something to hold on to," Roman groaned and slowly started to work his way down. "What jerk would go to a club with a bug," He asked rhetorically with an angry tone. Virgil bristled and took a deep breath, trying to steady his mood.

Virgil finished walking him to the bathroom, and Virgil sat back down. He sighed deeply. He was starting to feel the faintest little twinges of Roman's pain. The venom was starting to connect them. It wasn't immediate, then. Virgil didn't like making Brood. He wasn't sure if he never liked it, but he couldn't remember the last time he made one. He knew the effects, but he was fuzzy on the connection.

"Yup, caught something. The thermometer says I've got a fever." Roman said from inside the bathroom.

"Then go lay back down. I'll get you whatever you need," Virgil said through the door.

"I have homework to do," Roman groaned.

"I'll do your homework," Virgil said. "You might just write badger in as every answer," Virgil said as Roman came out of the bathroom. "What's the class?"

"English. Examine the symbolism and meanings in some short story," Roman said with a yawn. "I can read a short story, Tempy, I'll be fine,"

"I don't know about writing an essay, though. I'll get you your textbook and you can just dictate after you read it, okay?" Virgil said and grabbed Roman's backpack off the ground under his loft and pulled out the English textbook and put it on Roman's desk. "But maybe you should wake up a little more first. I'll make you some tea," Virgil said and walked over to the corner to grab the two dirty mugs to wash.

Roman was standing a little wobbly in the bathroom doorway.

"Who knew you could be so domestic? I thought you were all feral emo," Roman said and clapped for some reason. He might have been a little delirious.

"Come on, Princey, I'll carry you up there myself if you don't go lay down," Virgil said. Roman groaned and walked over to his ladder, and Virgil stood next to it for support again.

"Fine, dad," he grunted as he pulled himself up the stairs. Virgil retreated to the bathroom to clean the mugs once he had made it up. "I'm awake, though, what do I do in bed?"

"You can lay on your side and watch TV on the laptop," Virgil said and reemerged to go make tea. "I could also buy you some audiobooks or something,"

"No, Disney movies sound great," Roman said and laid down. Virgil unplugged the new laptop and placed it on Roman's bed next to him. Virgil also grabbed a plastic lid from a storage bin to put Roman's fresh cup of chamomile on.

Roman fell back asleep after eating soup and partway into a second Disney movie. He kept muttering to himself about how the characters should have listened to him or something equally odd. Virgil had lunch and went through Roman's notes to find the essay requirements while Roman was deep asleep. Virgil felt really guilty about ruining Roman's whole day of productivity and writing some essay he'd probably written a few times before wasn't a big deal. It was likely the teacher shouldn't have any idea about Roman's writing style to judge against at this point in the semester. Virgil was nearly done writing the essay when Roman moaned and threw the blankets off his legs.

"It's so goddamn hot," Roman cried and started struggling with his shirt. "Why is it so hot in here?" Virgil sighed. His fever was probably spiking. Roman's shirt came over the side of the bed and Virgil got up and stood on the support bar at the head of the bed. "What are you doing? Turn off the heat," He groaned. Virgil placed his hand on Roman's forehead. "Holy crap, that feels nice," Roman sighed.

"You want me to get you some colder water from the machine?" Virgil asked after a few moments of Roman shaking slightly.

"Yeah," Roman agreed quietly. "But then come back with your stupid cold hands," He said. Virgil chuckled and went out into the hall to get a few cold water bottles from the vending machine in the common area, next to the floor kitchenette. Roman was slightly convulsing when Virgil came back in, and Virgil was at Roman's forehead with the cold water faster than he should have, panicking from seeing the convulsions. Roman sighed in relief again. "Thank god for your shitty circulation," Roman moaned in appreciation. Virgil rolled his eyes out of Roman's eye line.

"Have some cold water, Princey," He said and twisted the cap off for him on one of the bottles and handed it to him. He put the other two on the bin lid he left on the bed. Roman downed half the bottle before gasping for air. He stopped shaking a few minutes later and fell back asleep. Virgil let go of Roman's head and went to make him a cold wet cloth instead so he could finish Roman's essay. About an hour later and an essay finally completed and transferred to Roman's laptop via flash drive, Roman shifted again. He had woken up, but all he did was roll to face Virgil.

"Play me something pretty on the piano, Virge," He requested, the exhaustion evident in his voice. Virgil chuckled and went over to refresh the rag on Roman's head again. Roman sighed in relief with the new cool rag.

"You have any preference?" Virgil asked as he sat down and turned on the synth.

"Beauty and the Beast?" He chirped from his bed, and Virgil heard Roman open another bottle of water.

"Very appropriate," Virgil laughed gently and started playing the song. Roman listened quietly until the end.

"Keep playing," Roman said with a small yawn, shifting in his bed again.

"Any other requests?" Virgil asked and looked up at him. He was pale and lying limply on the bed, shaking slightly.

"I can't think of any," Roman said and rolled on to his side. "I just enjoy hearing you play," Virgil nodded and played one of his older compositions for the hell of it. He could feel Roman watching him from behind. He seemed pretty out of it right now. Virgil would have to ask about Roman and piano music. It always calmed him down to the point that he'd fall asleep sometimes.

Roman had fallen back asleep while Virgil played, but Virgil kept playing. Virgil didn't want Roman to wake back up if he was only drifting. After another 20 minutes of noodling around, Virgil stopped to order Roman some dinner, a different soup, and a smoothie. He knew the venom took 16-24 hours to work and wasn't sure how far along it was or how long Roman should be sick for. It had been 19 hours already, so they were perhaps getting close.

He listened to Roman snore and went back to learning to code while he waited for the delivery. The logic trees and things were familiar, and he could churn out a simple program of a moving box or a text quest in Java now. Logan had mentioned it would be easier if he started out there when they were texting. Virgil was trying to figure out using the keypad to steer a shape when the alert came to go downstairs and pick up Roman's late dinner.

Virgil placed the soup and smoothie still sealed on the bin lid for when Roman woke up, but the smell seemed to rouse him.

"Thanks, Virge," Roman mumbled and carefully sat up to eat. A soft feeling of appreciation unfurled in Virgil's chest. They were linked now. No going back.

"Anything for you, Ro. Do you want more tea?" Virgil said quietly as he accepted his new reality. He felt a little overwhelmed by it and tried to keep it to a minimum so he wouldn't make things harder on Roman. He took a deep breath and shielded as he clicked on the kettle.

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm not as hot anymore. I do still feel like shit, though. Can you get me a new shirt from the bottom drawer?" Roman asked with a weak laugh and gently stretched his arm. "I'm glad it was more of a hot-and-tired illness than an… expellatory sickness," Roman said. Virgil laughed quietly and walked over to Roman's dresser and pulled out a plain white tee for Roman, tossing it up to his bunk and returning to make some tea.

"Me too," Virgil agreed as he pulled out a bag of chamomile.

"You know, if all of your classes were online, and you had a coffee machine, I don't think you'd ever leave the dorm," Roman said out of nowhere.

"You're not wrong, but where exactly did that come from?" Virgil said with a laugh. Maybe Roman was still a little delirious.

"Well, almost everything you need is here," He said. "Tea, your mysterious food, all your instruments… You just need black coffee,"

"I like my brews from a better machine than a consumer one," Virgil said with a chuckle. "So unless we turned you and your bunk into a mini coffee shop then I'll probably leave the dorm eventually," Virgil said with a laugh.

"Oh my god, I'm rooming with a coffee hipster. That's a hard limit, Virgil, you'll have to drink some shit coffee and appreciate it," Roman said. Virgil raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I just didn't expect a bondage joke from you," Virgil said, a little dumbstruck.

"So, I read 50 shades!" Roman threw up his arms weakly. "It was popular! I didn't enjoy it!"

"We don't kink shame or book shame in this house, Ro, we wear our kinks and guilty pleasures proudly," Virgil said with a chuckle. "Twilight was popular, too, did you read that?" Virgil asked, and Roman looked guilty and rubbed his head.

"Well, okay, just tell me if you were team Jacob or team Edward," Virgil asked charitably. This was a decent way to broach the subject if nothing else.

"Team Edward. He was a creepazoid, but he never forced himself on Bella like Jacob did. Team Alice would have been much a much better book," Roman muttered quietly.

"So, it wasn't about liking vampires then?" Virgil asked tentatively.

"I can't stand behind a natural-born killer glimmering in the sun," Roman said and picked up the smoothie.

"I mean the old tales, not the weird glitter-pottery vampires," Virgil clarified, somewhat exasperated.

"Oh, I like those stories. Sexy, mysterious, a little horror element," Roman mused and took a sip.

"You think blood drinking is only a little horror element?" Virgil asked, a little confused.

"Well, it doesn't kill their victims in lots of the tales. Vampires are drama queens rather than super dangerous in plenty of them." Virgil snickered at that comment. "I mean the thrall thing is kind of creepy, but they're supposed to be horror stories after all," Roman said as he started in on his soup. "Will you pass me the crackers?" He added. Virgil nodded and grabbed them from the desk against the wall and passed them up.

"Well, I agree that thralls are creepy," Virgil said. "But it doesn't bother you that they're monsters who feed on humans?" Roman shook his head and dipped a cracker in the soup.

"I mean humans are monsters that feed on all kinds of other things, it was maybe more of a big deal when those old folk tales were popular, but man itself is the more popular and realistic villain these days," Roman explained and sipped at the soup. Virgil barked with laughter at that. Deceit would like him for sure. Well, they were going to have to due to Virgil's screw up, though. At least they had that opinion in common. "So you're all emo and gothy. You probably like vampires,"

"Um, sure?" Virgil said. He wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. "Nighttime, spooky, all that stuff," He said in confusion. It's sort of an odd question to get asked, if you like your own species.

"Oh, come on, you have to have a better answer than that!" Roman said incredulously. "You've got the whole Nosferatu makeup thing going on,"

"Fine, yeah, I like them. Dark and mysterious and biting and such," Virgil said. Roman raised his eyebrow. "I just said we don't kink shame in this household. Though, I'm more of a biter than a bite-e," Virgil said with a dark laugh. Roman laughed too, though nervously.

"I, uh, wouldn't know myself," Roman eventually said quietly. Virgil couldn't help but snicker. Dream Roman knew he was into it, anyway. "Hey," He objected.

"No, it's not about that. Take your life at your own pace and how you want to do it," Virgil said apologetically. "It was un-related with bad timing,"

"Are you going to tell me what?" Roman asked and finished off his soup.

"Honestly, genuinely, you don't want to know," Virgil said. Nobody's particularly happy learning about Deceit's gift. It was a pretty major intrusion on privacy. Roman stared at him for a moment. "I'm serious. Do you want me to order you more food?" Virgil asked and changed the subject.

"No, my stomach is still pretty upset," Roman said and passed down the empty to-go soup container for Virgil to throw out. "I'm just going to munch some crackers and maybe watch another movie. Did you want to join me?" He asked.

"These lofts are twin beds, Princey, it's pretty close quarters. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm getting kind of hot again after the soup and tea," Roman said. "May as well sit up here with Mr. Bad circulation. Makes more sense than having you stand there for I'm not sure how long," Virgil shrugged and cleared up the rest of the things on the bunk so he could fit himself and the laptop up there. Roman scooted over for him. Virgil grabbed his weighted blanket off his bunk and climbed up.

"What are we watching?" Virgil asked and wrapped himself in the weighted blanket and placed his hand on the back of Roman's neck.

"God, your hands are amazing," He moaned. Virgil flushed slightly, his mind slightly in the gutter against his wishes. "What's your favourite Disney movie?"

"Black Cauldron," Virgil replied.

"Oh, that's a classic one. Let's watch that," Roman said and pulled up the movie to stream. "No songs to sing along to, though,"

"That's part of what makes it perfect," Virgil said with a smirk, and Roman rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I sang along to to the movies earlier," Roman huffed.

"I have a feeling today was the exception to the rule," Virgil said. In more ways than one.

"Well, I have a wonderful voice and anybody who hears it is lucky," Roman said haughtily.

"Yeah, very lucky," Virgil said sarcastically. Roman very weakly shoved Virgil, and they both chuckled. The movie intro sequence finished, and they stopped bickering to watch. Over the length of the movie, Roman had leaned a little more into Virgil with every yawn and wrapped himself in a part of the weighted blanket.

"This blanket is heavy as hell, Virge," He observed quietly.

"It's great, right? It's like a blanket hug without having to stack blankets," Virgil responded and took his now much warmer hand off of Roman's neck and leaned against the back wall. Roman pulled more of the weighted blanket around him and Virgil sat up to let the blanket slide.

"It is like a hug," He said and leaned against Virgil on the back wall with a big yawn.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Virgil asked softly, and Roman shook his head.

"Let's finish the movie," He said and watched the movie through half-open eyes. Roman was out 5 minutes later, leaned pretty heavily against Virgil. Virgil knew he should probably let him get to sleep normally, but contact with his Brood was feeling nicer by the minute and Roman had insisted he wanted to finish the movie. So he hummed and just let it be. There was only 15 or so minutes left, anyway. Virgil fought the urge to pull him closer the whole time.

"Alright, sleeping beauty, the movie's over," Virgil said and gently shook Roman awake.

"No," Roman said and pulled the blanket over his head.

"No, what?" Virgil asked with a little laugh.

"Stay," Roman said and pressed against him. Roman was probably feeling the bond and too tired to question it. Virgil sighed inwardly.

"You'd be mad in the morning," Virgil said.

"No, I wouldn't," Roman groaned and pulled the blanket tight.

"Yes, you would. I've got to put away the laptop either way," Virgil said and pulled himself free as gently as possible. Roman collapsed on the bed and pulled the blanket tight over himself with a giant yawn.

"Come back," He said weakly.

"Maybe another time," Virgil said a little sadly. He wasn't sure he could forgive himself if he gave in. It was the bond's fault that Roman wanted to cuddle with him, and Virgil couldn't take advantage of that. "Go back to sleep, Princey," Virgil said and brushed his hair.

"Fine," Roman mourned. Virgil realized Roman wouldn't know how to separate his feelings from Virgil's for a while. That might be a nightmare. Virgil was not the most emotionally stable person. Virgil spent more time agonizing about all the things that could go wrong than he ever cared to admit. Deceit had a heart of gold to put up with him the way he does. And Deceit had a double dose of Virgil's anxiety with his gift. Roman was into himself enough that he might learn on his own without ever learning what was happening, at least.

Virgil let Roman keep the big weighted blanket and pulled the second, smaller one for the desk off his loft and wrapped up in it, trying to focus on staying calm. He settled down and went back to the program he was trying to learn before Roman woke up. He had managed to code a box that a user could input things to and have it collect boxes for points, like a shitty version of snake that didn't move forward on its own and the boxes didn't respawn. But now he was curious about how to do that as well, so Virgil went to go look up how to finish turning it into snake. Learning to program was like falling into an endless Wikipedia hole.

At least Virgil was distracted from freaking out when Roman had a change in mood from his dreams. That was surprising. Virgil had never dreamed before and wasn't entirely clear how the process worked other than hallucinating certain situations. Virgil hadn't Brooded D for very long before the accident and couldn't remember ever sharing dream moods with someone. Maybe Roman just feels things really strongly. Which doesn't bode well for Virgil if that's the case.

Now that Virgil knew that Roman didn't think he was any a bigger monster than mankind itself, it made him feel like it may be okay to tell him what happened. His brain had already sorted out the compulsions and he couldn't take those back, but maybe he didn't have to lie to his roommate anymore. Virgil wasn't sure how long he could keep himself from getting upset over this and… it may be inevitable. Virgil was bitter at Deceit's words coming back, and Roman groaned in his sleep. Fuck. Calm down. Program snake. Make it print messages about how it was coded for when he sent it to Logan. Calm the fuck down. Keep up the shield and let the poor kid sleep.


	14. Rubber Human

Virgil was focusing on reading The Subtle Knife. He was tired of staring at various Wikipedias and needed something more active to distract him. He also couldn't take the cliff hanger anymore and it would be a great way to distract himself. When did kid's books get so epic? He was still keeping an eye on Roman, more or less, but mostly just enjoying the story since there was a good chance he would sleep through the night at this point. However, Roman had jolted awake and startled Virgil from his story trance. He couldn't have woken him with an emotional spike because he was shielded and focused on the story. So suddenly waking was all Roman, and it was jarring.

"Essay!" Roman shouted, grasping the wall and pulling himself up.

"What about it?" Virgil asked, pretty damn surprised at Roman's outburst. Honestly, it freaked the hell out of him. It was completely out of the blue and he was pretty into the book.

"It's due!" He said, throwing off the weighted blanket the best he could and starting to climb down the ladder. Virgil shot up to support him as he wobbled a little coming down.

"You just have to check it and turn it in. When's it due?" Virgil asked calmly.

"11:59! When did I do it?" Roman asked with confusion as he sat down at his desk in front of his laptop.

"I did it," Virgil told him quietly. "It's on your desktop," Virgil didn't want to lie to him again even if it would have been easier to tell him Roman himself has done it himself. Roman was enough out of it today that Virgil wouldn't even have to compel him to convince him. But that would have been another thing that Virgil would have to feel bad about.

"What? When?" Roman asked as he pulled up his class's website.

"While you were asleep," Virgil explained dismissively. "You were out all day," He added after a moment.

"You didn't have to do that for me," Roman said and opened the document to add his name and class information. Virgil laid down on the floor, suddenly feeling very heavy. Which shouldn't be possible. But there he was, feeling crushed by a ton of breaks on his dorm floor, which, in his honest opinion, could really use a vacuum and he'd rather not be there.

"Yeah, I did," Virgil grunted sourly. He really messed up. Roman grabbed at his chest in confusion, and Virgil felt even worse. He needed to keep it under the threshold, or he'd make Roman suffer worse.

"I probably could have done it, but I watched another movie instead," Roman said, his voice dripping with guilt. Ugh, it was a nightmare. Virgil was already making Roman suffer worse. Virgil's guilt must have been more than his shield could take. He took a deep, hopefully stabilizing breath.

"You fell asleep in the middle of the second movie. You weren't awake for more than a few hours at a time today," Virgil said and rubbed his face, trying to calm down. Roman's heart rate quickened, which made Virgil feel even worse, and now Virgil felt like he was this close to spiraling.

"That doesn't mean it was on you!" Roman said loudly, holding his chest with both hands now, looking at himself and then around the room wide-eyed, clearly spiraling down a guilt hole with Virgil despite his best efforts.

"For fuck's sake Princey, it is on me!" Virgil said despondently and pulled out Vladimir from his pocket and squeezed the toy almost like a stress ball.

"What are you talking about?" Roman said, sounding a little panicked, his confusion and fear over the weird feeling in his chest was almost palpable.

'Darling, are you okay? Do you need me to come?' Deceit's thought broke through the guilt in his brain.

'I'm telling him,' Virgil thought suddenly, incapable of keeping up this charade. What was he going to do, let Roman think he had some disease or something from the random chest pains and things of Virgil worrying? The very idea made him feel even worse.

'I said not to do that while you were emotional!' Deceit thought back angrily.

'I can't take it anymore!' Virgil thought hysterically and squeezed his eyes shut.

'I'm coming, don't be rash!' Deceit responded quickly and crossly.

"Um, Virgil, are you okay?" Roman asked quizzically, his heart pounding a little slower and one hand loosened on his chest. After Virgil had resolved to tell him, it relieved some guilt and calmed him down a tiny bit. Not that telling Roman wasn't still terrifying enough.

"No," Virgil said and took a deep breath. Roman's heart rate dropped further. "And I'm why you're not okay,"

"You're going to have to fill me in," Roman said, his confusion growing and sounding stricken.

"Will you do me a favor turn in your essay real quick?" Virgil said and repeatedly hit himself in the face with the tiny bean bag spider. Roman turned back to his laptop and Virgil listen to the clicking sounds mix with the noise from the beans in the spider shift around. Virgil just kept smacking himself in the face with Vladimir so he could focus on something other than the dread overwhelming him.

"Done, now tell me," Roman said shakily, turning away from his laptop and facing Virgil again.

"Will you do me an even bigger favor and remember how you said you liked vampire stories earlier?" Virgil said and sat up, running his hands through his hair.

"Virgil, what in the world is going on?" Roman demanded, sounding distressed.

"It was me," Virgil mumbled. Admitting it dropped his guilt a notch more. Roman took a deep breath.

"What was you?" He asked. "You're really going to have to be more specific. I'm tired and feel awful,"

"I made you sick," Virgil explained disconsolately.

"How in the world did you make me sick? You're clearly healthy," Roman said. "You cared for me all day and did my essay, Virgil, you couldn't have done that if you had what I had," Virgil groaned and suffered another wave of guilt.

'Virgil, I swear to Hecate I will kill you if Roman doesn't!' Deceit thought loudly. Virgil winced, and Roman's eyes widened and shot around the room.

"Did you hear that?" Roman asked, now shaken midst the other maelstrom of emotions he was caught in. This was not how Virgil hoped this would go, damnit. Not that Virgil had the highest hopes in the first place, but this situation basically came pre-deteriorated.

'You will have to put yourself on Roman's murder list because he just heard you,' Virgil thought to Deceit. He would have been amused if he wasn't so distressed.

'Oh, shit,' Deceit thought, much quieter this time.

"Sorry, that was Deceit. He doesn't want me telling you like this," Virgil said. Confusion spun dizzyingly in Virgil's chest over the shield.

"Virgil, I am lost at sea here, throw me a lifeline," Roman said and rubbed his head. The thrum of Deceit re-linking pulsed in his chest and Roman fell out of his chair in shock.

"And what the hell was that!" Roman shouted angrily.

'D, he's pissed now, will you turn it down a notch before the fucking inquisition comes?!' Virgil thought loudly, trying to make it clear to Deceit that he wasn't helping the situation.

"I just heard you in my head now, too. I'm going insane. Maybe this is a dream. This is a dream, right?"

"I can pretend this is a dream if that's what you want," Virgil offered softly. He almost wanted to. Almost. Roman groaned and ran his hands through his hair.

"For the love of god and all that is holy, what the hell is going on?" He said as he crawled back up on to the chair.

"I… uh… bit you," Virgil stammered out. Roman raised an eyebrow. "And now you're in my clan. And you'll be stronger and healthier, live longer, and you may even develop a small power," Virgil explained as coolly as he could. If he started with the good stuff, maybe Roman wouldn't be so upset. Maybe he could still turn this around.

"Oh, so you're the insane one," Roman said accusingly.

'Probably,' Virgil thought at Roman. 'But, I'm telling the truth,'

"Okay, what the fuck?" Roman half-shouted, his eyes shooting around the room again.

"I'm a vampire, Ro. And my thirst took over, and I accidentally made you something called a Brood. You'll be protected from other Vampire's thirst as part of my clan. Which is good. Because did you know you were AB-negative?" Virgil rambled, completely incapable of keeping his thoughts straight.

"How the fuck did you know my blood type?" Roman shot irately.

"I could smell it. I tasted it," Virgil explained quietly.

"I would remember you drinking my blood, Virge!" Roman said, perturbed and crossing his arms.

"Did you know that vampires compelling victims aren't myths?" Virgil laughed weakly.

"You can't be a vampire. They don't exist," Roman grunted obstinately. Virgil sighed and sat up. He prepared himself mentally since there was certainly no refuting this. Virgil stood up from the floor walked over to the wall.

"Where are you going?" Roman growled, offended. "You can't just say shit like that and walk off!" Then Virgil walked right up the wall and on to the ceiling.

"What in the actual hell, Vampires are real?" He exclaimed manically, grabbing his face. Virgil could feel Roman's panic in his chest. He dropped his shield and breathed deeply, trying to send calm his way. It was really, really, hard to try to be calm with Deceit being pissed and Roman freaking out.

'I'm here, let me in,' Deceit thought. Virgil dropped down and let Deceit in the dorm room.

"He already knows, D," He said before Deceit could open his mouth. "And I don't want him to forget," Virgil asked and stepped aside to let Deceit in. Deceit's shoulders slumped, and he walked in to the dorm. Virgil locked up behind him and stood next to Deceit, placing his hand in the small of Deceit's back.

"If you even consider reporting us to hunters, I will know and I will kill you before you can even dial 911," Deceit threatened Roman bitterly.

"That really doesn't help, D," Virgil sighed deeply. "This is Deceit, I'm his sire. He's a turned vampire. He has a gift to know people's true feelings so he should know how bad an idea it was to threaten you," Virgil was really quite agitated with him right now.

"Well, he's scared, so it worked," Deceit said, obviously feeling very catty, and crossed his arms.

"I'm scared enough of myself as it is," Virgil moaned. He looked over and saw Roman kind of dumbstruck. Honestly, that was better than the panic. "Deceit, you know you're bonded to him too," Virgil tried to desperately imply to Deceit to play nice.

"Love the jammies, Roman," Deceit said sardonically and rolled his eyes.

"I will bite you and not in the fun way," Virgil groaned. "I'm really sorry, Ro," Virgil said and sat down in front of Roman, placing a hand on one of Roman's hands that were clutching his knees on the chair to help calm him.

"So I'm a vampire now or something?" Roman asked, running his free hand through his hair.

"No, a Brood isn't a vampire… It's… well… it's supposed to be a food source for a Vampire. But I promise I won't bite you again unless you want me to," Virgil said. "Especially now that I can just drink in front of you without waiting for you to sleep,"

"But I get superpowers?" Roman clarified expectantly.

"Kind of? You're linked with me any of my Blood in a wide radius, now. We can speak telepathically and we're empathetic to each other. You'll feel things we feel strongly. Or if we don't shield off from you, you'll feel everything. If you can learn to separate our feelings from yours, it won't be so intense," Virgil explained.

"Your blood?" He asked in confusion.

"It means somebody I've turned, it's short for Blooded. I'm afraid I don't know if any others outside of D still exist. I've been around for a long time," Virgil explained. Hecate, if he did have any Blood left out there, they better not end up near here.

"But I get super strength and stuff?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, not like superman or anything. You can handle roughly double or triple what you used to. I don't know the max life span for a Brood, but I've met one that was 150 before. You'll maybe age slower, too. It all depends," Virgil said. Well, it all depends on if he wants to be fed on often, anyway.

"Well, being linked to that drama queen sounds shitty, but I like the sound of superpowers," Roman said enthusiastically. Deceit groaned and flipped Roman off.

"Deceit's usually wonderful when he's not feeling so defensive," Virgil said and shot a look to Deceit, who just huffed and looked away. "He has to stay away from me for a while. He doesn't live completely in range, so you can get used to him over time," Virgil said and got up to pull in Deceit for a hug. Deceit softened and smiled slightly. "He's just scared of you hurting me," Virgil added while Deceit hugged him back.

"I have no idea how to hurt a vampire, Deceit, and it's a pretty sweet deal so I have no reason to find out how," Roman said, rolling his eyes. "What kind of name is Deceit, anyway," Roman asked under his breath and Deceit bristled. Virgil kissed Deceit's forehead and calmed him down. Roman blushed slightly as he watched.

"Well, you got a fun new kink and now your awful sleep schedule won't kill you as much," Deceit said cheerily, though the hint of malice was still certainly in his voice. God damnit, D, way to stir the pot.

"A… what? A fun new kink?" Roman asked and turned scarlet. "What are you talking about?" He asked and looked pointedly at Virgil. Virgil sighed deeply and let go of Deceit and his shield and went over to hold Roman's hand. Roman's eyes shot from his hand to Virgil's face, realizing the effect of the bond this time around.

"Um, you may feel a compulsion to be bitten by me," Virgil said quietly. "But it won't hurt anymore. It's supposed to feel much nicer than holding hands feels. I won't listen if you're acting odd, I promise," Roman looked panicked for a moment and Deceit laughed.

"You know, I think he might have already had that kink," Deceit said airily. Roman bristled and looked to Deceit with wide eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Roman shot, extremely embarrassed.

"There's no point in lying to him, he doesn't just feel your moods, he knows your real opinion on everything," Virgil softly and squeezed Roman's hand gently, trying to reassure him.

"For instance, I know you want to fuck Virgil already," Deceit's laugh was like a bark. Roman's heart rate spiked. Holy shit, D. Was he jealous or was their just piss in his proverbial cereal today?

"Deceit, don't you think there's a line?" Virgil shot, looking angrily to his very bitter boyfriend.

"Are you guys in a relationship?" Roman asked quietly, so embarrassed his entire face was red.

"It's open, dear, and Virgil thinks you're attractive, too," Deceit said flippantly, flipping his hand dismissively.

"The line, Deceit!" Virgil groaned and smacked his hand to his face, rubbing it aggressively.

"What, I'm clearing the air!" Deceit shot with a little snarky laugh. "There are a few more little snafus you should know," Deceit said as if to be helpful. Virgil rolled his eyes and took Roman's other hand to help calm him down. They may as well go down this path, now that they've already plummeted off the cliff.

"What?" Roman said and glared at Deceit. D probably deserved that, as much as he wanted to tell Roman off for it.

"You won't be able to ignore a direct order from Virgil, even without compulsion," Deceit said dispassionately and checked his nails nonchalantly.

"What does that mean?" Roman inquired suspiciously, watching Deceit carefully.

"Darling, order him to punch himself in the face," Deceit said glibly, waving his hand in Roman's direction.

"I'm not ordering him to do anything," Virgil objected and rolled his eyes.

"No, I want to see what he means. Just leave the money maker alone," Roman requested. Virgil sighed and gave in. As much as he hated to do this, if he wanted it, then it was his choice.

"Roman, I order you to snap your fingers," Virgil said in annoyance. Roman's hand lifted out of Virgil's and off his leg. His fingers snapped stridently before dropping back down to his knee.

"Oh, that's creepy as all writhing and burning hell," Roman said with a shiver.

"That's why I'll never do it unless it'll save your life. Technically, I can order Deceit, too," Virgil explained, almost glad that was out of the way.

"So you're some kind of vampire mob boss or something?" Roman asked and eyed Virgil suspiciously, trying to size him up.

"Alpha Vampires, or Vampires that were born and not created, just have control over their clan. I couldn't order Thomas to do anything," Virgil clarified.

"Oh, so you're not really cousins, then." Roman said, still a little suspicious.

"Well, they could be if you consider all Alphas as related since they were born of the same thing," Deceit said dryly, twisting his hand around slightly.

"Wait, Thomas is a vampire? That's why he dragged you out of there?" Roman said.

"Yeah. He wanted to make sure I wasn't there to attack a club member. I normally wouldn't out another Vampire like this, but you'll be able to sort of sense vampires now. You'll get a prickling sensation on your neck when a Vampire not from our clan is around. Or any other 'supernaturals', really, but supposedly those senses feel different," Virgil expounded, feeling a little better, and having a much easier time helping Roman stay calm.

"Other supernaturals?" Roman asked with wide eyes, sounding concerned, but the excitement in his chest was clear as day.

"We're all pretty rare, dear, compared to the number of humans. You probably won't run into another one on campus. Mermaids or shapeshifters or that kind of thing. There are lots of kinds," Deceit dismissed him coolly.

"That's… a lot of new things I can do. You mentioned maybe developing a power?" Roman asked hopefully. This excitement from Roman was even more intense than finding out about supernaturals.

"It's uncommon, darling, for a Brood to get a power. But that is another little thing to know. The more venom you get from your Alpha, you have the chance of getting stronger and getting what we call a gift," Deceit explained.

"A gift?" Roman asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Not all vampires believe it, but supposedly Hecate created Alpha vampires and supplies all vampires with special powers, or gifts, that would help them specifically survive better. Something that compliments their personality. But the odds of you getting significantly stronger or a gift as a Brood aren't high, so don't get your hopes up,"

"So, how do I get more venom from you?" Roman asked skeptically, not willing to drop the special powers thing.

"Um, like D said, it's not a guaranteed thing-" Virgil started to try to dissuade him.

"Let him feed on you, of course," Deceit replied coolly.

"Deceit!" Virgil groaned. "Roman, it's important to me that you make choices that you want for yourself, not be persuaded by anything. I already fucked up bad by doing this to you in the first place,"

"Virgil, if I knew you could give me superpowers, I would have asked you to give me god damn superpowers," Roman said vehemently. Deceit laughed heartily at that.

"I told you, darling," Deceit cooed. Gentle compassion welled in Virgil's chest. Roman's heart rate dropped to normal and he smiled softly. Virgil sighed and released Roman's hands. Roman frowned at that, but let him go. Virgil walked over to Deceit and took his hand softly, rubbing the knuckles with his thumb.

"You're right, as always. It seems like it's all handled, love," Virgil said, trying to be careful with his words and not directly tell him it's best to leave. Especially since D couldn't seem to resist stirring the pot. Deceit and Virgil were still in murky waters, with D being more subservient. But maybe it would be a little better now that Roman was in the clan.

"I suppose. I'll go home. Have fun with your new friend," Deceit said curtly, still very agitated. Virgil stopped him from walking off right away and pulled him into a hug, kissing his lips. He could hear Roman's heart rate rise for a moment while he deepened the kiss.

"I miss you, too. Maybe we can spend more time together sooner now? Contact me any time, love," Virgil whispered softly against his lips. Deceit smiled gently. "I'm sorry I snapped at you,"

"It's all right, dear. You're lucky I love you," He purred and kissed Virgil back tenderly, grasping Virgil's waist.

"I am," Virgil agreed as he opened the door for Deceit and let him walk out, locking it behind him, lamenting seeing him go.


	15. Float

Virgil watched Deceit leave with a melancholy feeling. That wasn't the best interaction with him. He'd have to find a way to make it up to him. When Virgil turned around from seeing Deceit out and locking the door, he saw Roman's face flushed and looking away, rubbing the back of his head.

"So when did you meet him?" Roman asked, still embarrassed from the display of tenderness when Virgil kissed Deceit goodbye.

"1700s, maybe? I'm not so great with time," Virgil said and sat down on the floor next to Roman again.

"_Holy shit_, how old are you?" Roman asked.

"I only have memories as far back as some time in the 1600s with any accuracy. I have no idea," Virgil said and rubbed his head. "You're really _okay_ with all of this?" Virgil asked tentatively.

"Hell yeah, I am," Roman said proudly. "I always knew I was destined for greatness," Roman announced and puffed up his chest.

"Maybe you're just still delirious from the venom," Virgil excused him and rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I feel better now," Roman said, sounding much more upbeat than he had all day. "I'm still sore, but it's more like a too-much-workout sore and not a bus-hit sore,"

"Then it will probably be gone when you wake up today," Virgil said with a sigh of relief.

"I can't believe I can get some fun vampire benefits without having to be a vampire myself," Roman said.

"Yeah, kind of," Virgil said, a little defeated.

"I thought biting and surviving is what turned people into vampires, though. How does that actually happen?" Roman asked.

"I'd have to half-drain you and then give you some blood I've already drunk. It's where the phrase 'blooded' comes from," Virgil explained with an exhale. It was nice things were settled down, but they still all had to live with Virgil's mistake.

"So what would happen if I got Deceit's venom, too? Would I get a better chance for powers?" Roman asked excitedly.

"Turned venom makes _thralls_, not Brood, Ro," Virgil said with a sigh and Roman bristled, looking grossed out. "He won't make you into a real thrall, you'd just be susceptible to his suggestions. Some kind of weird clan blood protection thing. It follows that thrall venom won't empower a Brood. But I don't know for sure,"

"Nevermind, then," He said with a light, but still clearly a little disgusted chuckle.

"You've got to sleep off the rest of the venom," Virgil said tiredly. He needed a break and Roman needed to go to sleep.

"It's a little hard to sleep after finding out you're now a _superhuman_," Roman said and rolled his eyes. "I'm kind of wired. Maybe we should go to the gym and see how much I can lift!" He said excitedly.

"Let's wait till you've recovered," Virgil said, exasperated. "How about we watch another movie? And don't say _The Incredibles_ because I don't want you getting _ideas_," Virgil stopped Roman before he could suggest anything.

"_Fine_," Roman rolled his eyes. "How about the new Beauty and the Beast? I like the new songs in it," Roman said and got up to climb to his loft. Virgil nodded and grabbed the laptop off the charger and joined him. Roman loaded up the movie While Virgil cocooned back under the weighted blanket he left for Roman to sleep under last night. Roman yanked the edge out of his hands and joined him under it. "You're not getting out of this contact this time," Roman said resolutely. "Is this bond thing why you wouldn't stay? You felt bad that you made me feel all warm and fuzzy?" He asked softly.

"I was trying really hard not to feel guilty that you wanted contact because of the venom. I didn't want to overwhelm you with my guilt. Obviously, that whole plan failed spectacularly," Virgil said and sighed, pulling Roman against his chest as he wanted to a few hours ago. Roman sighed and turned towards the screen to watch the movie. "It would feel different if I shielding myself, like earlier. It's not as intense with you as it is with Deceit," Virgil explained, kind of relieved. "If you were my Blood, we would probably miss all our classes for the next few days," Virgil said.

"Why would we miss-" Roman started and Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. Roman flushed. "Oh," he said quietly. "I've… never done that before,"

"And you can make that decision after you get used to the bond and while I'm shielded," Virgil said. "And maybe over 10 miles away, just for good measure," Virgil added with a little laugh.

"So Deceit wasn't lying… about you being _interested_?" Roman asked delicately, looking like he was afraid of a negative answer.

"Yes, I seem to have a type," Virgil smiled and laughed again. "Dramatic bitches," Roman smacked him on the chest in protest and frowned at Virgil.

"I'm _not_ like him!" Roman objected sourly.

"No, you just remind me of him sometimes," Virgil said softly, and perhaps placatingly. "But you are a dramatic bitch and you should own it," Virgil chuckled again. "You're unique, Ro, that's what makes you interesting, don't worry about a shared trait or two," Roman flushed in his arms.

"_Shut up_," Roman muttered and looked back to the laptop. Virgil hummed in satisfaction. They watched the movie in silence for a while.

"Hey, um, how does it feel? To be fed on? Just out of curiosity. You said it would be nicer than holding hands?" Roman asked a while later. It must have been sitting on his mind, because Virgil could feel his nervousness building.

"I can't tell you how it feels to, Ro, I've never been a Brood," Virgil said a little sarcastically. "I've just… seen reactions in the past," Virgil wasn't sure he really wanted to elaborate on the reactions he'd seen. They'd been varied, but some of them were eventful, to say the least.

"That's still pretty vague," Roman murmured, tinged with annoyance.

"I can't say what will be like for you. But, for me, when I interact with someone I'm bonded with intimately, it's intense. It can be overwhelming but somehow that's not scary. My mind is quiet and I can just be with them,"

"Your mind is quiet?" He asked with curiosity.

"I know I don't act like it, but I spend most of my time being afraid of horrible outcomes and freaking out over things I shouldn't even be scared of. My name may as well be anxiety," Virgil said with a weak chuckle.

"I can't picture a vampire being scared of _anything_," Roman looked at him curiously.

"You've seen me refuse to enter an elevator," Virgil offered an example somewhat sourly.

"You're afraid of_ elevators_? I thought you just like to stretch out with the stairs since you're always sitting at your computer," Roman said incredulously.

"Well, that's also true, but I'm definitely claustrophobic. I may or may not have been staked through the chest with a silver rod and trapped in a mausoleum to die until Deceit saved me,"

"Holy shit," Roman muttered, almost reverently.

"I've still got the scar," Virgil said and sat up to pull up his shirt to reveal a big gnarled scar over the left side of his chest. Roman's eyes went wide, and he touched it gently, feeling the texture.

"How did that not kill you?" Roman mumbled in awe. Boy, he gets straight to the point.

"The heart's a weak spot, but it's not a kill spot on Alphas. I don't even think I have a heart. Humans who know the Alpha kill spot don't last that long. Except for hunter guilds, I suppose," Virgil mused. Roman poked one of his collar bone piercings playfully.

"_That_ must have hurt, too," Roman said with a small whistle.

"I like to mix it up," Virgil said with a laugh and pulled his shirt down and pulled Roman back in. "I think that hurt Deceit than it did me. He hates needles for some reason. Though, I'm not looking to get staked with silver again just for the thrill,"

"So the silver thing is true. How about the garlic and crosses?" Roman inquired, looking back to the movie.

"Looking for my _weakness_?" Virgil asked and raised his eyebrows. "Do I need to get Deceit back here?" He added with a small chuckle.

"No, I just don't want to do something stupid," Roman said quickly, looking back to Virgil in alarm.

"I'm kidding, Princey. Neither. I mean, why would I not get sick from all the faux-Italian you ordered the other day if I couldn't be near it?" Virgil said with a chuckle. "And Iron crosses unsettle me, but they don't hurt. There was just an incident. Oh, wood from apple trees will hurt me. I don't quite get why, but that myth is real," Virgil pulled Roman close and kissed his hair. "Oh, shit, sorry, habit!" Virgil blurted quickly and pushed Roman away, trying to give Roman back the space he just invaded. He'd been doing that with Deceit all summer, and it got the better of him. Roman shook his head and leaned back into Virgil's chest.

"I didn't mind," Roman murmured, slightly flushed. Virgil sighed sullenly. Virgil needed to go feed before a different instinct decided to put its lips on Roman.

"I shouldn't have kissed you without asking first, I'm sorry," Virgil said emphatically and pulled away again. Roman pouted slightly as he dropped the blanket and climbed out of bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked, whining dramatically and reaching his arm out to him. Hecate he smelled so damn good it wasn't fair.

"You are full of liquid crack and it's making me thirsty. I'm getting dinner," Virgil said as he stepped down from the bed. He could feel Roman's eyes on him as he pulled out a bag of blood and dropped it in the warmer.

"Liquid crack? Wait, why d'you put it on the floor?" Roman asked, watching Virgil in confusion over the bars on the bed.

"There's a bag warmer back here. Cold blood makes most vampires nauseous, but the cells need to be live for us to get any value out of it. So, blood fridge and blood bag warmer and you drink it quick before the cells degrade," Virgil said and sat in his chair and waited for it to click. Roman never went back to watching the movie. "Princey, I'm about to drink, go back to the movie,"

"You never answered the liquid crack thing," Roman insisted stubbornly.

"AB-negative is the most delicious blood type to the point of addiction. It's extremely expensive, and I've seen vampires lose it over a bag. Deceit said he couldn't believe you survived life this far,"

"He's a real ball of sunshine, too," Roman said, rolling his eyes. The warmer clicked, and Virgil pulled out the bag and closed the curtain. "I wanted to see," Roman objected. "I swore I'd catch you eating one day, remember?" Virgil groaned and pulled the curtain open. He did swear that and Virgil did owe him, even if it was weird.

"Fine, but stay on the loft, bagged always makes me a little hazy and we don't need another incident," Virgil said and bit down on the bag to suck out the contents.

"Yeah, wouldn't want me to be _extra powerful_ or anything," Roman said sarcastically. Virgil just held up his middle finger. "Hey!" Roman objected. Roman watched him the whole time he ate, and Virgil raised his eyebrows at him as he got close to draining the bag. "Who can say they've seen a vampire enjoy a gory Capri Sun?" Roman said with a laugh. Virgil rolled his eyes in a big arc, so Roman knew what he was doing. Virgil finished it quickly, dropping the dry bag in the garbage under his desk. He waited for his vision to clear and went back across the room to rejoin the movie.

"What did I miss?" Virgil asked as he sat back down on the loft and settled back in under his weighted blanket.

"Oh, shit, I don't know. We'll have to rewind it," Roman said and leaned over to back track. "It looked so normal and tame when you ate," He added, sounding surprised.

"What did you expect me to_ attack_ with the plastic bag? I normally drink from humans through holes in their wrists. Me pinning you and drinking from your neck was an exception to a rule I haven't broken in living memory," Virgil said acerbically.

"You _pinned_ me and drank from my neck?" Roman asked in astonishment and sat up, pulling at his shirt collar to check for marks.

"Vampire spit heals the wounds, numbnuts," Virgil said rolling his eyes. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have been made a _myth_,"

"You bit my neck and licked it?" Roman said and flushed, looking away. Virgil felt Roman's embarrassment in his chest.

"Is this a bad time to apologize for Deceit's dream eaves-dropping on you?" Virgil said nervously. He knew what that embarrassment was over and may as well bite the bullet.

"Um," Roman stalled nervously and hid his face under the weighted blanket while he pulled more over himself.

"When vampires compel humans to forget, the brain usually does something with the fragmented memories. So, uh, it used them in your dreams," Virgil said awkwardly and looked away. Roman came out of the blanket suddenly.

"You know what, you're right, I'm wearing my guilty pleasures proudly. It's not like I get to pick what I dream about and it was _hot_," Roman declared with determination and leaned back against Virgil. Virgil chuckled and pulled him close. "Did he see the _rest_ of the dream?" Roman added, sounding concerned all over again.

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Virgil asked, almost as a warning. Roman nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think Pat's cute, too," Roman's heart rate spiked, and he tried to bury his head in Virgil's hoodie. "It was just a dream, Ro, it doesn't mean anything. Deceit's told me about all kinds of wild ones," Virgil stroked his back and pulled him gently out of his chest. "You're missing the movie," He said, but he felt more embarrassment flare in his chest suddenly. "Hecate, Ro, you're so embarrassed I'm blushing, out with it!" Roman was normally pretty confident, so maybe all this nervous energy was from Virgil?

"Do… Do vampires even _get_ erections?" Roman asked, barely above a whisper. Virgil barked with laughter. It was probably the last question he expected to answer right now, and by Hecate, it was a funny one.

"Is that it? It's a valid question, Ro, you don't have to be embarrassed. As long as we're fed, we can use our dicks and blush. The longer it's been since a feeding, the less blood there is, and those kinds of functions don't work anymore. The vampire circulatory system is a mystery to me, so I can't tell you more than that,"

"Temporary Vampire Boners would make a great band name," Roman mumbled into Virgil's hoodie. Virgil giggled at that, completely baffled and amused.

"Come here, you idiot," He murmured softly and pulled Roman close and held him tight. Roman sighed contentedly.

Roman had fallen asleep on him before the end of the movie again. Virgil found himself staring at Emma Watson's artfully defined eyebrows, probably more than was reasonable. He might have missed a big part of the movie himself. He must be kind of loopy from all the emotional strain. He looked blankly at the black screen for a while, not really ready to move. Eventually, he shifted slowly and tried to lay Roman down without waking him, but he was unsuccessful.

"Where are you going?" Roman moaned and rubbed his eyes.

"To plug in the laptop," Virgil explained quietly, grabbing the laptop and hopping down from the loft.

"You'll come back this time?" Roman asked hopefully with a large yawn.

"If you lay down normally so you don't hurt your back," Virgil offered with a soft chuckle. Roman complied with Virgil's request while Virgil switched the rechargeable batteries in his headphones and grabbed a charged music player. He climbed back up and crawled in next to Roman under the weighted blanket who latched back on to him as soon as Virgil laid down. He still didn't feel fully right about all this, but Roman swore he would have wanted this, so Virgil tried his hardest to believe him.

"Cut it out," Roman groaned. Damnit, he worried too hard again. But it was a good sign that Roman knew it was Virgil's guilt and not his already. Though he was aware first hand that Virgil felt extremely guilty about all this and Roman had done nothing to feel that way himself.

"Sorry. I'm trying," Virgil said apologetically and took a deep breath. He focused on the music and tried to let his head drift to his musical obsession instead of guilt central station.

"Thanks," Roman mumbled. He fell back asleep a few minutes later. Virgil stared at the ceiling and felt Roman's emotions shift around in his sleep for a while, enjoying the novel feeling and the heartening feeling the contact gave. Virgil shielded again after a while, though, when his worries started back up. Roman had lost enough sleep over all this vampire bullshit.

Virgil was emotionally very tired when Roman's alarm went off. Virgil felt like he needed an emotional vacation, he just wasn't ready to deal with today. Yesterday was a roller coaster, and he deeply wished he could have just fallen asleep with Roman for a break. Roman sat up and rubbed his neck while he yawned, pushing the blanket off of him.

"Aw hell, I'm still all sweaty from my fever yesterday, I need a shower," Roman groaned as he tugged at his shirt and moved to crawl down the ladder. "I don't have the time to shower and eat and get to class," He said bitterly.

"You smell _fine_, just shower when you get back. There'd be a line right now anyway," Virgil said as he jumped down from Roman's loft and starting pulling off Roman's sheets. Roman huffed but seemed to accept his lot and headed into the bathroom. "I'll do the laundry while you're in class," Virgil announced to Roman through the bathroom door. There was a grunt in response and the sound of brushing teeth. Vigil dumped Roman's sheets in Roman's laundry basket and waited for Roman to exit to brush his own teeth before heading out. Roman was out of the room quickly after he got out of the bathroom and dressed.

Virgil gathered his laptop and both baskets and headed down to the basement level to do the laundry. He was luckily just fed because the exercise room was pretty packed as he passed it. The pumping blood and smell of lunch on the run barely bothered him. After Roman's blood, at least for now while it was still fresh on his mind, he barely wanted anyone else's. The bag he had this evening was perfectly normal for him, a bag of A-positive, and it almost tasted like dirt.

After checking all the tags on Roman's clothes, he had 3 washers going with different types of cycles with his and Roman's clothes mixed together. There wouldn't have been enough for a delicates load otherwise. He sat on a clothing folding table, using his laptop on his lap as the cycles run. He went back to reading The Subtle Knife, deciding to study after he got back to the dorm. He'd rather be in fantasy land right now.

The laundry room was empty and uneventful at this time of day. The drone of the washers running incongruous cycles was also pretty relaxing. With his headphones on and the wash going, he couldn't hear outside of the laundry room and he mostly smelled the wash and the concrete. He didn't have to deal with anything other than what was in the room. Thank Hecate. Virgil felt a buzz in his pocket after a blissfully peaceful while of reading.

'Hey, where did you get those nifty noise-canceling headphones? I think my roomie also gets sensory overload and maybe he wants to get some,' came a text from Pat.

'I'll just buy some for him. This pair was $300.' He replied. Patton sent back a shocked face gif. 'If he doesn't want them, it's no big deal and you can just take them to my room. Do you need anything, Pat? I'm just going to send them to your dorm,'

Pat sent back a frowny face gif.

'I will do good recklessly whether it involves you or not, sunlight, so if my beautiful broke bestie needs something I will provide for them one way or another,' Virgil sent. After Virgil didn't get a response for a minute or two he sent another text. 'I broke Roman's stubbornness about spending my money and I will break yours. Stick it to the man.'

'What I need is too expensive,' Patton sent.

'Unless you're asking me to buy you a car I really doubt it,' Virgil sent, but then reconsidered. He probably bought a car worth of recording equipment last week. 'Maybe a car isn't too outlandish come to think of it, but I'm not buying you a luxury model, that's outrageous. You can't have some imported Italian thing, you'll just have to settle on a used sedan or something. What model do you need, dear?' Virgil joked with them.

'I don't need a car, Virge!' Patton sent with a ton of shocked face emojis. 'It's just hard to only work on essays during library hours with my part-time job and everybody else seems to have a laptop. I've been trying to save up, I have $50 so far,'

'Done. Buy yourself a pretty dress with that, trust me when I say I don't need it,' Virgil sent and loaded up the website he found that takes cryptocurrency and has lots of electronics to buy the camera the other day. Pat sent a bunch of happy crying emojis.

He ordered Pat's roommate the headphones, rechargeable batteries for it, and some concert earplugs. He ordered Pat and a nice laptop with a mouse and a laptop bag that was a bright sky blue. Pat seems to like that color. He made it all a 'gift order' to hide the amounts so Patton wouldn't have a heart attack when they saw how much the laptop cost. Patton sent a long series of happy gifs after various key smashes. There were also many 'thank you's when Virgil texted them the expected arrival date. Virgil leaned back and happily, returned to his book while he waited for the wash. Virgil felt so much better. Yesterday was far away, and he got to spoil Patton. That was a victory in his book.

Two hours later, Virgil was finally back in the dorm and putting away his clean laundry and had placed Roman's folded laundry on his desk. Roman would likely be back from lunch soon to handle it. Virgil grabbed his IT textbook and laid upon his loft to read ahead. Just as mind rending as usual. Virgil sighed and dropped his head on the mattress. Not as bad as yesterday, still. But, wow, this book sucked.

"Still that bad?" Roman asked. Probably watching Virgil hit his head over and over against his mattress as he walked into the room.

"Yes. I feel like I'm getting dumber by the minute reading this damned drivel," Virgil groaned into the mattress.

"Holy crap, did you do all of my laundry?" Roman asked in amazement.

"Yeah, no need to make two trips," Virgil said, still not having removed his head from the sheets.

"Thanks, Virge," He said gratefully. "Though, I don't know how I feel about you handling all my underwear,"

"I've done so much laundry in my life that it genuinely didn't even register to me," Virgil said with annoyance, though not at Roman. At this stupid textbook. "Tell me not to set this damn textbook on fire,"

"Don't burn your textbook, Virgil, it's perfectly good as something to beat people in the face with," Roman said with a bemused laugh. Roman stepped partially upon Virgil's ladder and ruffled Virgil's hair. Virgil exhaled softly as the contact relaxed him. Well, even if this textbook sucked, he still had this idiot to cheer him up.


	16. Animal Instinct

Virgil crawled down from his bunk and put away the IT book. He still kind of wanted to burn it. Why was his instinct to burn things he hated? Maybe he needed to look into that. Either way, he was glad he was finally done with reading ahead in the chapters. Virgil breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to his mini-fridge while Roman played with the new camera's settings at his desk.

"Oh, is it lunchtime?" Roman asked as he watched Virgil through the lens.

"Yeah, I have class soon," Virgil said distractedly as he squatted down and grabbed a bag from the Fridge. Roman watched with interest as he loaded it into the warmer and leaned back in his chair while it heated. Virgil heard a click as he shifted to wait and looked to Roman.

"You show up in photos," Roman said, sounding slightly surprised, still clicking around on his camera and focusing on the little digital screen.

"Nobody uses the Daguerreotype anymore, it's all digital," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. "You'll find you can see me in modern mirrors, too,"

"What the hell is the Daguerreotype?" Roman asked curiously and Virgil heard another click of a photo being taken.

"It's the old style of camera that used silver. I won't show up in any technologies that use silver. You think I'd risk coming to college where any idiot could out me by taking a photo?" Virgil explained acerbically, looking irritably at Roman for implying Virgil would be so reckless.

"Geez, you're _moody_ just before feeding," Roman responded hotly and rolled his eyes right back at Virgil. Roman returned to pushing buttons on the camera.

The bag warmer clicked and Virgil reached down to 'enjoy' his lunch. It was a little hard having O-positive with AB-negative sitting right next to him. He bought whatever was in stock last time. Virgil needed to consider buying rarer blood types so it wouldn't be like eating sand while sniffing ambrosia. He only had about 3 days left and should probably contact that Remy guy.

Roman watched Virgil drain the bag, enraptured again. It was probably his compulsion. Or Roman was just more gothically inclined than he let on. Or Roman just has gotten into the habit of staring at Virgil. Other than watching Virgil feed, Roman has done nothing weird yet. If the bond is weaker than Deceit's then it should take much longer for him to get weird. Virgil gladly put that hurdle put off. Not that he had any inkling what was going through Roman's head right now. The compulsion plus the bond would probably be hard to handle if it was stronger.

After Virgil pulled himself out of the bagged daze, he tossed the empty bag and pulled out his phone to contact Remy. He needed the rares; the cost be damned. He had an entire slightly stale and gross tasting bag and would still give anything for some of Roman's blood. Virgil briefly missed the business professional attire and his closed office where he didn't have to be smelling blood all day long and drinking so much. It was a shit situation if he got nostalgic for business hell. He would not put Roman in that position if he could help it, while Virgil still had his sense. Deceit would let Virgil use his account for this.

'This is V, GL' Virgil sent to him. GL was code for asking if it was safe to talk on the number. It was easy to remember as 'good line', but was supposed to be innocuous text abbreviation. You could send good luck to any number under little suspicion.

'GL,' with a checkmark emoji came. 'Who refereed you, babe?' Remy sent back.

'Thomas. You got rares? I'm in a situation.' Virgil sent.

'Ugh, what a piece of cake, right? I'd eat him any day.' Remy sent with an eggplant emoji, a few rainbows, an umbrella, the water droplets, the wrench, and a blushing face. 'Not a lot of rares. There's a premium on those right now,'

'I'll take them. I need 14 units if you have them,' Virgil replied.

'Not all of rares,' Remy replied with a dancing girl emoji, a crab, an angry face, the pirate flag, an overheated face, and a few different hands for some reason. What the fuck?

'idc, like I said, I'm in a situation. Anything is better than nothing. Inv my crypto.' Virgil sent and added a link to Deceit's secure account for Remy to charge him.

'Somebody's a serious sam' Remy sent with an eye roll emoji, some eyes, a grandma, and the money flying away. 'When do you need them by?' Remy sent with hang ten and some eyes more eyes and the footprint emoji.

'I'm out in 3 days, most times before then is fine,' Virgil sent his address over.

'Babe, that's a college dorm,' Remy replied with 3 fire emojis and a rainbow emoji, along with chains and a siren.

'As I said, a situation,' Virgil sent. 'Roommate is itk and daytime visits aren't logged,' He added for Remy to be less concerned about trouble. If that's what the emojis meant. Not that Virgil could fit the rainbow to make sense for that theory.

'Itk? sup?' Remy sent with a dork emoji and various supernatural creature emojis with an excited face. Sup was short for supernatural. Virgil wasn't fond of it, but the name stuck since it was also ambiguous.

'It's complicated. You'll get it when you see him,' Virgil sent with a sigh, carefully eying Roman on his laptop across the room.

'Oh, you saucy slut, you've whetted my curiosity, you free at 7? I gotta see,' Remy sent back with an eyeglasses emoji, a crown, the water droplets, a fire emoji, and a microscope emoji. What in the world was he trying to communicate with these?

'Sure,' He sent with a sunset emoji, just to see if he'd react.

'See you then, you thirsty bitch,' He sent with a winking emoji, a fire extinguisher emoji, 3 dancing girls, the gay groomsmen emoji, 2 fire emojis, and a lighting strike. What the fuck?

"Roman, is there some kind of special emoji language I missed? Because this guy is speaking in picture tongues," Virgil said and held up his phone. Roman walked over and looked at the texts.

"Well, I think I get the gist of the last set being excited, but I have absolutely no idea what everything else is supposed to mean," He said and handed back the phone. "Who was that anyway?"

"New hookup that Thomas uses. Hauling blood from two towns over where Deceit can get orders is too much of a pain in the ass," Virgil said with a dissatisfied grunt and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "He's coming at around 7 with a week's worth of food for me today," Virgil would figure out what those emojis meant, damnit. Virgil reread them carefully.

"Okay, so units are your capri suns, but what are rares?" Roman asked curiously, distracting Virgil from the forbidden emoji knowledge.

"Rarer blood types, stuff under 10% availability. U-rares are B-negative and AB-negative, but most hookups don't buy them since vampires can get a little… feral… just smelling the bag,"

"So, the situation that you need rares for is?" Roman asked tentatively. Virgil just raised his eyebrow at Roman, but he seemed to want a real answer after a moment of silence.

"After tasting you, common types taste like dirt," Virgil said a bit bitterly. Roman flushed slightly. "As I said, it's addictive. You're safe and all, but if I don't have to eat dirt, then I don't want to. It'll probably be a week or two until it's fully out of my system," Virgil said and sighed, flopping his head back.

"Should I leave before this Remy guy comes?" Roman asked with concern tinging his voice.

"You're safe, he'll smell my venom over the smell of your blood, even if you're buck naked," Virgil offered in reassurance and Roman flushed again, this time with embarrassment.

"Why in the world would I be _naked_?" Roman demanded, aghast. He crossed his arms and looked very concerned at Virgil.

"You wouldn't. But blood-typing is harder through the smell of your clothes and the environment. Not every vampire can do it, either, it's sort of an acquired skill. Anyway, Remy's a seller, he carries blood all the time. I don't think you'd have to worry about him. What made you think he was a vampire, anyway?" Virgil asked curiously.

"Wouldn't _all_ sellers be vampires?" Roman asked, confused, his arms slacking from their defensive state slightly.

"No, most of them are humans. Usually nurses or something who steal bags to supplement their income. Most vampires aren't inclined to share their dinner. We're very territorial bastards, honestly," Virgil explained. Roman's eyes widened for a moment, but he nodded in understanding.

"I guess glad I'm part of your territory, then," Roman said detachedly, dropping his arms and looking away.

"You're not my _territory_, you're my _friend_," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. "I don't do the territory thing. It's a bloody nightmare. It's not that common anymore, anyway. Deceit thinks that clan activity is dwindling because there are fewer Alphas than Betas and Omegas out there," Virgil said.

"What, wait? Like wolves? I've heard you mention that you're an Alpha before, but the rest is news to me," Roman asked.

"Pack hierarchy maybe, but it has nothing to do with breeding. Betas are turned by Alphas, Omegas are turned by Betas. Omegas can't turn anybody," Virgil explained. "It's just the easiest naming system. The whole 'turned' and 'turned by turned' thing is confusing. Plus, the old phrase for Alphas was 'originals' or 'children of Hecate' and that was completely insufferable," The bitterness slipped through Virgil's tone by the end of the explanation.

"Geez, there's lots of freaking vampire terminology," Roman said, annoyed. Roman mirrored the sentiment. "There should be a college course in that," Roman added glibly.

"Oh man, that's a professor you wouldn't want to cross. Every time a college professor wants some kid to jump off a bridge, he could actually make them do it," Virgil said with a dark laugh. "Oh, I've got to get to class," Virgil interrupted the train of thought suddenly when he looked at the time on his laptop.

"I thought it doesn't start for another 20 minutes?" Roman asked, perplexed.

"I get there early to sit near an exit. I'm afraid of crowds," Virgil said casually and shoved his laptop into his bag and got up to slip on his shoes.

"You can really take all the fun out of being powerful immortal, can't you? Go have fun in your stupid computer illiteracy class," Roman said sardonically and waved him off.

"Gee, thanks," Virgil groaned sarcastically and headed downstairs to get to class.

After the harrowing trek in the sun, Virgil made it to his regular spot in the aisle. He loaded up his notes program and some poetry and leaned back to listen to his music until the lecture started. He closed his eyes and tried to relax before having his brain bored into by the impending droll lecture.

"So, you're acquainted with my roommate," He heard Logan say. Virgil opened his eyes to see Logan sit down next to him. "They were crying earlier today because of you," He added evenly.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry! What did I do?" Virgil asked, suddenly sitting upright and upset.

"You bought them a laptop," Logan replied impassively.

"Oh, fuck, I'm bad with boundaries sometimes… I'll let Pat know they don't have to accept it or anything," Virgil blurted out quickly and pulled out his phone in a panic.

"No, I believe they were 'happy tears'. Patton is very emotional. They were crying at a cartoon yesterday. Thank you for the noise-canceling headphones. I will be utilizing them frequently," Logan was as controlled as ever, but there was a hint of humor in his tone at the end. Virgil exhaled his panic and settled back down instantly. Hopefully, he didn't spook Roman.

"Oh, sounds like it. Feel free to let me know if you want anything else. I didn't realize you were Pat's roommate," Virgil said, the relief extremely evident in his voice.

"I am. I apologize for the assumption, but you don't seem like the type of person who gravitates towards high-energy people like Patton," Logan said, looking to Virgil curiously.

"Oh, Patton started it. They make me feel supported and accepted just being around them. Otherwise, their intense optimism would probably wear on me. It's very nice to be around for a change, though. You're right in that I'm used to more even-keeled interactions," Virgil explained. Though remaining impassive was likely just professionalism and not just the type of people he was around. His old team was relatively introverted, though. They never wanted those goal parties, they just enjoyed getting free pizza and sitting at their own desks. Virgil didn't go to those parties himself outside of a little face time before ducking out.

"Yes, Patton does seem to have that effect. They are very kind and considerate towards my needs. That is not very common in the people I have met," Logan said as he pulled out his laptop and booted up his programs. "They are rather eccentric, but it doesn't distract me as much as it normally does in other people. I perhaps have grown fond of their idiosyncrasies,"

"Pat has that power," Virgil said with a small smile and a nod in agreement. "Did you open the simple version of snake I made yet?" Virgil inquired hopefully. He hadn't gotten a response e-mail yet.

"Yes, you seem to have a very good grasp of Java in a short period of time. I am surprised you have the time to work so diligently with 5 classes," Logan said with respect.

"I'm a bit of an insomniac. I'd rather be productive in my downtime," Virgil said and stretched his arms briefly. "Things will get busier later in the term and I'll be pulled away with other things, so I wanted to get the basics quickly,"

"I am surprised your lack of sleep doesn't affect your absorption of the material. Sleep-deprivation typically entails impaired thinking and judgment," Logan mused in interest.

"I've just had insomnia for a long time," Virgil lied dismissively.

"Do you often disturb your roommate while you are working late?" Logan asked after a short pause. "Patton has complained about my late-night studying in the past. I would like to circumvent those kinds of issues and would not mind advice,"

"We don't have that problem. Roman sleeps pretty soundly after going to bed. I put blackout curtains on my loft and it stops the light from my laptop bothering him. Plus, I'm always using headphones. That could be part of it, but I'm not positive," Virgil said and pointed to the pair on his head.

"I will take note of the blackout curtains. I have not installed any linens on the rod. Patton mentioned that you almost never take the headphones off. Do those headphones have a talk-through feature?" Logan asked and eyed them studiously.

"Yeah, it's this button on the center. You'll be able to hear Patton easily, it works well," Virgil replied, pointing at the button on the earphone.

"I see. I was curious about that. I have seen you take them off for a lecture before and was not positive the headphones could function that way," Logan explained placidly.

"I was worried about getting in trouble or looking weird. Patton lectured me about it," Virgil said with a sigh. "I will try it their way and leave them on unless something bad happens," Virgil added, half-way between defeat and relief.

"Do you struggle with lights and smells as well? I've seen you on campus with sunglasses and a mask," Logan asked inquisitively.

"Um, yeah, smells and sounds can upset me," Virgil muttered quietly. He wasn't aware that Logan had seen him around. Well, sensory overload wasn't really that far off from what Virgil struggled with. Virgil wasn't sure how it worked for humans, honestly, but it seemed like a reasonable enough excuse.

"Then why do you remove the mask indoors?" Logan asked, but he didn't sound accusatory.

"I get weird looks and that makes me nervous. I can handle smells up to a certain point, and that's when I put up with the weird looks and put the mask on," Virgil explained. He didn't even need to lie about this.

"That sounds like a reasonable course of action," Logan said and nodded. For some reason, Virgil didn't mind being interviewed by Logan, even though normally he would hate fielding these questions. Logan was just curious, not trying to incriminate Virgil.

Patton said they thought Logan also had sensory overload. Perhaps Logan just wanted to know more about how Virgil experienced it. Logan was curious about everything in the world. That was refreshing and interesting to be around. Logan could make anything sound interesting. Even headphones and face masks. The teacher walked into class, and Logan focused towards the front. Virgil followed suit and paid attention to the teacher. Ugh, Virgil liked Logan even more now, and he didn't know if there was anything to even do about it. Logan seemed really focused on school, and Virgil didn't want to be considered a distraction.

Virgil returned to his dorm and returned his laptop to the desk lethargically. It was nice chatting with Logan, but the class had beaten him down again. The material was repetitive and it let Virgil's mind wander and it kept going places he didn't want it to.

"What's got you down, stormcloud?" Roman said, looking up from his desk. It looked like he was doing his psychology homework from this morning, though his face was strained.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed," Virgil said dismissively and kicked off his shoes.

"Just a little overwhelmed? My psychology homework is 3 short-answer questions and review, and I feel like I'm going to pull out my hair. This can't be me," Roman groaned. "Play your drums, doctor's orders," Virgil rolled his eyes. Roman was feeling very demanding today. Virgil felt bad about upsetting him, but it was a kind of silly. "I mean it Virgil, hit things with sticks before I start beating my face on the desk. Maybe buy me something, that always seems to make you happy," Roman said angrily. That made Virgil laugh. What a turnaround.

"Yes, _sir_," He said sarcastically, with extra emphasis on sir. Virgil took his synth off the desk and propped it against the wall to set up the pads. He hadn't played with the new pads and second base pedal yet. He'd need to plug in his phone and program them. "What do you want for dinner?" He asked and pulled up the delivery app first.

"I don't know, something expensive and bougie so you can feel better," Roman said in frustration, rubbing his face.

"You okay with sushi?" Virgil asked. He had sorted by expense on the app, and this restaurant was on the top of the list.

"_Sure_," Roman said with a bitter laugh. After a moment, he breathed deeply. "Oh, thank god, I'm calming down, I was really worried about the future state of my face," Roman chuckled nervously.

"Sorry. It'll get easier the more you can identify them as my emotions as separate from yours," Virgil offered in solace. "I'm going to order you some bougie shit. Then I'm going to put on some tits and hit things with sticks," Virgil said and stood up to head over to her dresser.

"Sounds fantastic. I'll be finally doing my homework after 30 minutes of nervously avoiding it,"

"Sorry, again. Yesterday was a _lot_," Virgil said with a nervous sigh. It also brought up a lot she didn't like thinking about.

"Still don't regret getting superpowers," Roman proclaimed proudly, facing down to his desk to work. "Let's hit the track or something after dark,"

"Sure," She chuckled as she rummaged through her drawers. She yanked Roman's curtains closed and put on her bust and a girl's cut shirt, leaving her hoodie off. After a quick stop in the bathroom to change her makeup, she opened his curtain back and sat down at her desk to finish setting up her drums.

Learning to double pedal was a fun challenge. Pedaling for one base was like tapping your foot to the beat with intention. Pedaling for two was like trying to run horizontally with one foot while playing drums. Which is a pretty great image, even if it wasn't a totally accurate analogy. She was really enjoying it, her garbage analogies aside. Roman even burst out in laughter at one point, which made her laugh, too. He really laughed easily.

"Okay, those seem to be fun as hell. Can I try?" Roman asked and stood up from the desk. Virgil raised her eyebrow. "I finished my homework, mom, I told you it was short,"

"Okay. Let me show you how to hold the sticks," She said, unplugging her headphones from the kit and pulled a second pair of sticks out of the open storage bin on the floor.

"There's a stick-holding technique? I can't just hit the pads?" Roman asked. Virgil rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you want to be shit at it. It's not that hard, you big baby," She said and handed him the sticks, placing his hands in the right position. "The thumb and forefinger are what's holding the stick. The others are loose. Don't play from your wrist, play from your arms. See how I'm holding it?" She said and held her sticks and played in the air. "Loosey-Goosey. Now, you may hit them with sticks," She said with a bemused smile. Roman sat down at the kit and eyed it suspiciously. "It's not going to bite. Just hit each thing once and you'll figure out what they are. And try to show some restraint with your new strength so you don't break my pads,"

"Okay, got it," Roman said and started hitting the pads in order from left to right. He looked back up to her expectantly after running through the sounds twice.

"Great. Hit around and use the pedals until you like the sounds and your hands start to learn how it works. You don't have to make a song or anything, just get a feel for it," Roman just eyed her warily. "I'm serious. There doesn't have to be a wrong way to play it while you're learning. I can teach you more about techniques and stringing together the sounds later,"

"You're the easiest music teacher I've ever had," Roman said with relief.

"Oh, don't get me started on music teachers and classical training or you'll go berserk," Virgil said, tinged with annoyance. Virgil had some baggage there, as somebody who lived a few life times as an orchestra member.

"I get the message loud and clear," Roman said with a solemn nod and started smacking the pads. Virgil grabbed her laptop and walked up the ladder, squatting down as she reached the apex to sit on her loft.

"Holy shit, Virge, warn a dude!" Roman said crossly from under the loft.

"What?" She asked with faux-innocence.

"You know! When you're going to bend the fucking laws of physics and walk right up god damn walls!" Roman shouted sharply.

"It's more fun to climb things this way," Virgil shrugged. "If you could do it, you'd want to use it, too," She said defiantly and opened up her laptop to read while Roman was playing on her drum kit.

"Okay, fair," Roman said, seemingly mollified with that answer, and went back to playing with her kit. It was only a few minutes later she got the notification that the food order was down in the lobby.

"I'm going to go grab your sushi," Virgil said and hopped down from the bed. She put her hoodie back on and slipped on her shoes.

"Alright, try not to get in trouble for being in the boy's dorm," He said impishly and continued playing drums.

"It's not after 8 yet, dad, I'm allowed to 'visit'," Virgil responded sarcastically.

Virgil slid down the bars on the stairs for a few flights until she jogged the rest of the way down to get Roman's sushi. She saw the guy in a service logo polo holding her delivery at the front desk and jogged up.

"Thanks," She said with a big smile and took the bag, handing him his tip. He also had a big smile after that.

"Thanks yourself! Have a nice evening, ma'am," He said and turned around to leave. Virgil went back to the stairwell and enjoyed the fresh air on the way back up to her floor.

"Honey, I'm home and I have expensive fish," Virgil said enthusiastically as she reentered the dorm.

"Thanks, Virge," Roman called over his shoulder while he was playing with the pad. Virgil set the delivery bag on the window desk and watched Roman play around for another minute or two. After a few failed attempts to play the bass and high hat at the same time, he hit all the pads randomly. Roman laughed at the incongruous noise as he put the sticks down on the desk. He got up and pulled her into a hug on the way to the window desk. She sunk into it with a soft breath and hugged him back. Virgil appreciated the heat from him for a moment.

"Hey, before you eat and throw it back up, you want to stand on the ceiling?" Virgil asked enthusiastically. He did agree that he'd use the powers if he had them earlier, and she wanted to thank him for the hug.

"Hell _yeah_, I do!" Roman said and let her go, looking up at the ceiling.

"Nope, you'll want to hold on for this one," Virgil said and grabbed him again, jumping and flipping to land on the ceiling. She felt Roman's shirt sag up his back, snickered at his hair flopping to the floor. He held on tightly and looked around.

"You'd make a killer roller coaster," Roman said, laughing. "You can just swap mid-air?"

"I can swap from the floor. It's less disorienting if I jump," Virgil clarified, humor evident in her voice.

"It was disorienting either way. Can I try the horizontal one?" Roman asked excitedly, bouncing slightly. Virgil jumped again and landed sideways on the wall next to the closet.

"We're totally going to have to fix our hair after this," Roman said, looking from the floor to the ceiling. Virgil smiled and ruffled his hair. "Okay, to the floor before I'm too dizzy for my expensive raw fish," Roman directed with a chuckle. Virgil jumped and landed in the middle of the floor and let him go.

"You wouldn't believe how tempting it is to walk down the wall of the stairwell," Virgil said, brushing down her hair with her hand. "I'm almost always alone in there, but people could walk in at any time,"

"Probably a good call to resist temptation," Roman agreed as he sat down and wheeled himself over to the window desk to eat. Virgil walked over to turn on the kettle for tea, then sat on the wall next to him with a toothy grin. Roman looked eagerly at the various things she ordered for him. He cracked open the bottle of lemon-lime soda and took a swig while Virgil reached out and poured herself a mug of tea.

"I have no idea how you intend to drink that sideways," Roman said and cracked apart his chopsticks. "But if you make a mess, you're cleaning up," Roman added and popped a nigiri in his mouth.

"I'm just steeping it, dork for brains," Virgil said with a catty smirk. "How's the sushi?" She asked, watching him reach for a roll.

"A godsend," He said, downing another piece. "I don't think I've ever eaten sushi this good," Virgil smiled and watched him eat for a while until he had decimated the roll and pieces of nigiri she had ordered for him. He seemed to really enjoy it, but it just smelled like fish to her. Human tongues are so weird. Or maybe hers is what's so weird. Maybe that's too existential a train of thought. Then there was a knock at the door with a terrifying smell she hadn't noticed before. Virgil fell to the ceiling in the sudden panic of being caught off guard.


	17. Shoot and Run

"Fuck, I hit my head on the way up," Virgil groaned, sitting on the ceiling for a moment from the sudden noise and proximity while she was using her gravity control. She dropped standing to the floor and recombobulated herself. Roman went to the door to answer the surprisingly effective knock.

"Babes!" shouted an extremely tall guy in mirrored sunglasses in a black moto jacket, a gray v-neck, and pale skinny jeans. He was holding a big cooler.

"Remy, I assume?" Virgil asked and walked up to the door. "Let him in, Ro," Roman stepped out of the way and let him in. "Thanks for the delivery, man," She said and Roman closed the door behind him. She took the cooler from him and carried it to her fridge. Remy looked between her and Roman.

"Oh. My. Hecate. Girl, if you've got a Brood then what the fuck am I doing here taking all your money? You can't need that many units with that beefcake," Remy said and dramatically sat with one leg propped on to the other in Virgil's chair.

"It's complicated," Virgil said, rolling her eyes and unloading the cooler to her fridge quickly.

"You've gotta give me the deets," Remy demanded and clapped, but not an excited way like Patton did, but an abrupt ordering kind of way. He had a lopsided smirk and his hair was windblown despite the relatively stagnant day. Unless he flit before the sun fully set, which was unnerving to think about. He was a really weird one, it seems. But Virgil liked weird.

"Uh, Remy right?" Roman said awkwardly.

"At your beck and call," Remy said and dropped his sunglasses to wink. "You're a tall drink of water, huh?" Roman's heart jumped from the compliment from behind her. Virgil finished unloading the cooler as fast as she could without damaging the bags and placed it in front of Remy.

"I didn't mean to. It just kind of happened. So, he doesn't have to do it and doesn't have to suffer more for my mistake," Virgil grumbled and stood next to her loft.

"Gurl, I said Deets," He said and rolled his hand to motion for her to continue. Roman flopped in his chair.

"So we were at the club, dancing, right? And I was getting all hot and sweaty?" Roman started, reveling in the attention Remy was now paying him as soon as he said the word 'club'. Virgil rolled her eyes and picked up her tea to sip.

"Yes, that's what I'm talking about!" Remy cheered, accenting his words with claps.

"And the smell of all the people around her is getting to be too much, so we head home together," Roman said somewhat salaciously.

"Yes," Remy hissed in delight.

"And I take off my silk top. And the next thing she knows, she's pinned me to the floor and takes a drink,"

"That's hot," Remy says. Virgil leaned against her bed frame and rolled her eyes. Nerds.

"She took care of me the whole time the venom took over and told me in a massive guilt trip the next night and told me after that," He finishes, rolling his eyes slightly at the last part.

"Aw, barf, cute," Remy says and flips open the cooler lid to take a now very iced coffee out.

"I was wondering why that was in there," Virgil said plainly.

"You know, my Brood doesn't suffer any. He enjoys it," Remy said and took another long sip.

"Yeah, and it's some weird fucking bond shit and I'd rather have consent than some kind of freaky survival instinct," Virgil groaned.

"You have a Brood?" Roman asked, obviously with a deeply vested interest. He leaned forward slightly.

"Oh, yeah, darling. I don't drink bagged if I don't have to, I don't get why she puts up with it," Remy said nonchalantly. Virgil hissed in response. "Especially since you're such a drop-dead hottie and all," Remy added with a smirk.

"I don't suppose you'd let me text him and ask some questions?" Roman asked, sounding like trying to reign in his enthusiasm.

"Gurl, the little nerd would love that. Just to warn you though, he talks almost incessantly about cartoons. It's a little annoying but he's just such a damn cutie in a cardigan,"

"Cartoons have gotten so good!" Roman said emphatically and handed Remy his phone on the add contact screen.

"Yeah, babe, I get it, I've watched them with him," Remy grunted and took another sip. "Doesn't mean he shouldn't get some other damn hobbies," Remy said and spun the phone on his hand and added a contact. "His name's Emile and if you like Steven Universe you'll probably get along like a boat on fire off a fucking waterfall," Remy said with an eye roll and handed Roman back his phone.

"Thanks, dude," Roman said and looked excited.

"Let me install some privacy stuff on your phone before you text him, Ro," Virgil muttered. Roman nodded.

"That's cool. identity protection, right?" Roman asked. Virgil and Remy both nodded. "Does Emile have a gift?" Roman asked, his enthusiasm not being very successfully reined in anymore. Virgil huffed in frustration. She wished she had some empirical stats or something to dissuade him from this crap.

"Yeah, babe, he's got healing powers. He can regenerate his own blood fully in a couple of hours. I hit the absolute jackpot with that adorable little weirdo. He can feed the whole clan in the area with enough food and rest," Remy said and took a long sip from his coffee. Roman's eyes were wide, and he nodded in interest. Hecate, that better not get his hopes up too much.

"How old are you?" Virgil asked Remy curiously, hoping to change the subject far away from gifts. "I haven't met another Alpha in ages,"

"Normally, I'd be fucking offended, but I'm 389," Remy took a sip. "How about you, gothy girl?"

"Not sure. I just know I'm old," Virgil said and shrugged.

"Oh, you're one of those!" Remy exclaimed. "An ancient maybe," He said and sipped. "You know, your Brood there could help with that,"

"What?" Roman and Virgil said in unison.

"Getting back some of your venom when you drink from hot pants over there can strengthen your memory and make you a little less… batty," Remy said that last bit with a cackle. "You might not get it all back if you're old as shit, but it stops little mental slip-ups and mistakes your age addled brain can make without the Brood we were meant to have. You know, mistakes like biting your shirtless roommate?" He said with another bark of laughter. Roman and Virgil just stared at him silently for a moment. Remy looked Virgil up and down. "You know, if you were a dude, you'd be exactly my type, gurl," Roman laughed out loud and Virgil snickered behind her hand. "Am I missing something, babes?"

"Yeah," Virgil said, dropping her voice lower. It seemed like the fastest way to tell him.

"Oh? Not a full-timer? I'm interested," Remy said, pushing back up his sunglasses and taking nonchalant sip.

"They call it 'gender-fluid' now, apparently," Virgil supplied.

"I think I remember one of my Betas mentioning that. I think one of their friends was. Let's hit up a concert sometime and see if we hit it off, gurl. I haven't been with an another Alpha for like a fucking century or so," Remy said, dropping his sunglasses to wink again, but at her this time. Virgil glanced out the window and checked how dark it was. "Even if you're a total bitch, I wouldn't mind someone to fight with while you're in town," He said with another long sip, finishing off his drink. Virgil rolled her eyes at him but couldn't disagree.

"I mean, I can do both," Virgil offered with a snicker. Remy looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and Roman flushed, looking between the two.

"Kinky, gurl, kinky!" He said with a laugh.

"Hey, we're going to go to a track or something and see what wonder boy here can do, you want to come?" Virgil asked.

"Nah, I've got plans with Emile," Remy waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe we can double date sometime," Remy grabbed a handle on his cooler and stood up. "Somewhere more fun than a track, though, like a rave. I'll find us a fuckin' rave," Remy said with a laugh and headed out the door. Virgil rolled her eyes and grabbed a cinch bag from her closet and threw a men's shirt in there.

"He's a piece of work, but I can't say I dislike him," Virgil said with a little laugh and went to the closet to pull on her combat boots.

"Are all vampires polyamorous?" Roman asked after a moment and joined her to grab his sneakers.

"We're wired for clans, and the bond can get romantic, so usually. Not every vampire is into sex and romance, though," Virgil said. "The bond only gets romantic if the attraction is already there, so it's not a completely bum wrap if you were turned by somebody you weren't into. I think most alphas are polyamorous, at least,"

"You were already dating Deceit when you turned him, right? That must have been intense," Roman said.

"Yeah, we were inseparable for a bit. Absolutely terrorized parts of Europe," Virgil laughed a little wistfully.

"So what happened?" Roman asked, pulling on his shoes and standing up. Virgil sighed deeply. He really didn't want to have this conversation yet, but Roman deserved to know.

"You know how the Alpha can order anyone in their clan?" Virgil started.

"You didn't order him to do something he didn't want to do, did you?" Roman asked, a deeply confused and concerned look on his face.

"No! No. Of course not. The bond is really intense and strong between a pair. And everything below an Alpha… eventually will become more subservient to the Alpha. And Deceit isn't happy like that," Virgil said. Roman looked shocked and upset for a moment.

"Don't worry, the bond is supposed to be weak between the Alpha and Brood. If it happens at all, it'll be months away at least," Virgil explained and Roman looked a little relieved. "If I stay shielded and you learn to separate, then we can stave it off at least until we become sophomores. The pull between D and me is already weaker with you becoming my Brood. I'll have to see how much next time I see him. I guess it's some kind of energy pool? I still feel just as strongly for him," Virgil mused.

"So if you Blooded or Brooded more people you could make it more manageable?" Roman asked.

"Well, yeah, within a radius, but I can't just advertise I'm a vampire, nor do I want to be linked with every rando on the street," Virgil said and stood up. "If you like being super independent, I'll make sure you stay that way, okay? I can always transfer schools or something," Virgil stopped at the door and looked back to Roman, who looked somewhat despondent. "Come on, let's find some abandoned track or sports field," Virgil said, trying to perk him back up. Virgil didn't like that look on his face. Roman nodded and followed her out the door. After about 15 minutes of walking, they did find an unlit field to run in. The baseball field wasn't lit at this time of night. Roman gasped slightly when they walked out of the lights of the parking lot into the field.

"I can see so much better out here!" He said excitedly and did a cartwheel. "Let's see how fast I can go!" He said and dashed off into the field. Virgil kept pace with him as they ran around for a while, Roman whooping. He tried various things like seeing how far he could jump with a running start and cartwheels. He had her stopwatch his time taking the whole field and jumped upstairs on the bleachers. He even suddenly picked up Virgil, which got a surprised hiss and Roman threw her in shock. She caught herself and skid across the grass and glowered at him.

"Sorry!" Roman blurted out, startled at Virgil's reaction. "But, look at how far I threw you!" He said excitedly, the shock dissipating quickly. Virgil rolled her eyes and walked back over to him. He needed to maybe curb Roman's enthusiasm before Roman tried to throw Virgil off the bleachers or something.

"Alright, alright, keep pace with me," She said and started running at human speed.

"Why?" Roman asked. "This is kind of slow,"

"Because this is about as fast as you should go to be at a human pace so you don't draw attention to us," Virgil explained plainly.

"Oh, right," Roman said. "That's annoying," Roman made a face.

"It really is," Virgil said and started running backward to face him. "So you think you'll be able to keep about this speed around people? Maybe a reasonable jog?"

"Probably!" Roman said enthusiastically. "Can I run backward?" He said and started to turn around and stumbled.

"It's more of a coordination thing than a physical prowess thing," Virgil said, leaning over him and holding out a hand to help him up.

"Ouch," Roman muttered and took Virgil's hand to get up. "I'll have to work on that one," Roman rubbed his ass for a moment and brushed the grass off his pants. "I'm starving," He said, holding his stomach and pulling out his phone to check the time.

"You wanna see if Pat wants to come out to dinner with us?" Virgil asked.

"Sure, why not?" Roman said. "I could go for a steak or something after all this. I burned through all that sushi," He said. Virgil sent off the text.

"You have better than human endurance, but your body still burns through the same calories," Virgil explained simply.

"Oh, I guess I'll have to carbo-load like bodybuilders do if I want to do a lot of weight lifting or something," Virgil was just about to make a snarky comment as her phone buzzed.

'Yes! Can Logan come?' Pat sent back.

'Sure. Meet us outside the dorm,' Virgil sent off.

"Come on, let's go meet Pat. They're bringing their roommate, Logan,"

"Oh, I never met him. Is he cool?" Roman asked, and they ran out of the field.

"I think he is," Virgil offered with a shrug. He didn't really know what the standard was these days.

"So he's a total dork then," Roman laughed and Virgil scowled slightly at him. Why ask if he didn't believe her?

Roman and Virgil slowed to a human pace when they hit the street lamps, though Roman looked briefly disgruntled about it. After a pretty quick jog, they made it back to the dorms to meet up with Logan and Patton. Patton was waving at them right outside the front entrance to the dorm, and Logan was looking at something on his phone.

"Oh, were my favourite kids out for a run? That's why you were headed out to dinner? You should really re-think your exercise schedule, Roman," Patton chided Roman but had a bright smile.

"I know, I know," Roman said with a huff.

"I'll get us a ride share," Virgil said and loaded up the app.

"Where are we headed?" Patton asked excitedly.

"Roman wants steak, but he's probably amenable to other options," Virgil offered.

"Either of you want something specific?" Roman asked, dusting off his arms briefly.

"No, I'm fine with whatever Roman wants! How about you, Lo?" Patton chirped.

"I am satisfied with anywhere that has a side salad or fruit plate," Logan said.

"Cool, then we're all set," Virgil said, picking some random well-rated steak restaurant and summoning a ride. "They're on their way," Virgil said, and quickly scanned the menu. "This place won't have milkshakes I'm afraid, Pat, but they do have a full dessert menu," Patton's eyes glittered but then their face dropped after a moment.

"You're spoiling us again, aren't you?" Patton pouted.

"If I don't spoil you then who, will?" Virgil cried dramatically. "I can't let that lack of spoilage stand," She objected, hopefully cheering up Patton again. They liked silliness.

"Yeah, I'm pretty certain mommy warbucks will die if she doesn't spend at least a thousand dollars a day," Roman said sarcastically. Virgil crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. She couldn't do that even if she dipped into Deceit's money. Infinity dollars is not an achievable sum. Logan's eyes shot up from his phone and raised his eyebrows.

"Virgil, you look… different," Logan said candidly.

"Virgil's gender-fluid," Patton said. "Sometimes she is a she or anything else under the sun!" Patton motioned widely with their arms and span.

"I see," Logan said and pocketed his phone.

"Never came up," Virgil said, shrugging. "Sorry if I startled you. I just stick with male pronouns if I'm not a girl. I'm not really caught up on all the new terminology or anything,"

"They probably will not let you back in the dorm presenting like that, however. It is now past visiting hours," Logan explained with a little concern. Virgil pointed to her backpack.

"I brought stuff to change before we leave," Virgil supplied nonchalantly.

"I was wondering why you brought that for a run," Roman said with a shrug. The rideshare car pulled up to them. There were 3 rows of seats and everyone sat comfortably, Virgil sitting in the single upfront as usual.

"I like to be prepared," Virgil offered.

"It is the most practical way to live life," Logan nodded in agreement.

"I didn't know you had class with Lo, Virge!" Patton said excitedly. That was a sudden change of subject. But that was also very Patton.

"I can't believe you let them call you Lo," Virgil said with humor in her tone.

"I do not particularly approve of it, but Patton has made concessions for me, so I have made this one for them. That does not indicate that either of you can call me anything other than Logan," Logan said firmly.

"I get it," Virgil chuckled behind her hand. "I won't call you that," He could be really odd sometimes. Nicknames have been around since forever. There was nothing wrong with them.

"You're a verbose fellow, Logan," Roman observed with an amused expression.

"I prefer to be as clear and concise as possible in my communications," Logan replied. Patton tittered behind their hand.

"An honorable pursuit," Roman replied with a smirk. "I think I get why Virgil likes you,"

"I am afraid I do not follow your reasoning," Logan said, shifting to face Roman.

"You're just as much of an old person as she is," Roman said with a laugh.

"Don't let Roman get your goat, Logan. He just likes to rile people up," Virgil said dismissively.

"I do not have a goat for him to take," Logan said plainly.

"That's the spirit!" Patton said excitedly. Logan just looked confused.

"It's a colloquialism," Virgil clarified. Logan nodded in understanding. It is was kind of a weird southern one. "I am a proud old person and I take no offense to that, you'll have to try harder, Princey,"

"Now kids, don't fight or I'll turn this car around," Patton said with a little chortle. Roman and Virgil raised an eyebrow at each other. Virgil got there first.

"Boi!" She pointed her hand around her to Roman as she said it. Roman and Patton laughed. The rideshare came to a stop outside the restaurant, and Virgil handed the guy some money as she crawled out of the car.

"Thanks for putting up with us," Virgil smiled sheepishly before exiting.

Everyone stepped inside the restaurant, some nice but not-too-nice steak place so they wouldn't get kicked out for their clothes. Well, Virgil's clothes anyway. The waitress seated them in a booth who took their drink orders. Logan and Patton set next together, and Roman and Virgil sat across from them. Roman let Virgil sit on the outside seat without having to ask him, which was very considerate. Virgil ordered a black coffee, Roman got a soda, Patton ordered lemonade, and Logan ordered water.

"Virgil, ordering coffee this late would be detrimental to your insomnia problem," Logan said with concern. Roman laughed at that, which got an odd look from Logan.

"It doesn't hurt it much. My classes don't start until the afternoon," Virgil offered and took a sip. "This tastes like decaf, anyway. They must not have a pot of regular at this time. What are you guys thinking about getting?"

"The New York strip, maybe," Roman said. "I don't really know much about steaks, but that sounds fancy," Roman shrugged.

"Ah, the cuts have to do with the location on the cow or the level of marbling. I assume you would want a lean cut after exercising, so the sirloin tip side steak or top round is ideal for such an occasion," Logan explained quickly.

"Oh, thanks, Logan. You're like a walking encyclopedia," Roman said and returned to the menu. Logan looked very pleased at the compliment.

"I think I want the salmon," Patton said. "And I can get it with a loaded sweet potato!" Patton added excitedly.

"I will be ordering the side salad with a side of fruit," Logan supplied.

"Oh, breaking the bank," Roman said with a laugh. Logan's eyebrows started to raise.

"He's being sarcastic, there are no bank heists involved nor it is too expensive," Virgil said quickly, seeing the confusion on Logan's face start to unfold.

"You sure you don't want to order more?" Roman said. "I wasn't kidding when I said she likes to spoil people,"

"It is what I want to eat. Any more and I could overeat or it would expire," Logan supplied firmly.

"Fair enough," Roman replied with a little laugh. "If you have leftovers, Pat, I'll hold on to them for you. I'm pretty certain the menu means an entire sweet potato, not just part of one,"

They chatted animatedly between ordering and getting their food, and Virgil got a refill on her decaf when they got their plates. Patton cringed slightly at the tiny amount of blood from Roman's medium-rare steak, which made Virgil snicker quietly.

"Not a fan of the sight of blood, Pat?" Virgil asked, hoping she didn't accidentally hurt their feelings or anything. It was just relatable.

"I just don't like the reminder that my food used to be alive. I used to be vegetarian until I got sick and my doctor told me I couldn't do that anymore," Patton explained. Virgil grimaced.

"Sorry, Pat, I feel you," Virgil offered in solace. Roman shot a glance at Virgil but didn't say anything.

"Were you not hungry, Virgil?" Logan asked curiously, sipping his drink.

"No, I already ate," Virgil lied nonchalantly. The chatter lessened as the three ate their meals, but the conversation never really died.

"Are you going to have room for dessert?" Virgil asked Patton as she eyed them going to town on their sweet potato.

"I will stop eating to make sure I get a dessert!" Patton announced and dropped their fork immediately.

"Oh, same," Roman said, but took another bite.

"What were you thinking about getting?" Virgil asked curiously, sipping her coffee.

"I want something with ice cream," Patton said. "But the crème brûlée sounds good," Patton said, sounding conflicted. "Does anybody want to share?" They asked brightly.

"I want to try baked alaska. It's supposed to be super hard to make. It has ice cream if you want to share it," Roman offered. Patton nodded excitedly and Virgil motioned to the waitress waiting near the kitchen.

"Can we get a baked alaska, two boxes, and the check, please?" Virgil asked politely. She nodded and left for the kitchen. "It would be cool if they would blow torch it at the table. Watching videos of people torching meringue is so mesmerizing," Virgil said absentmindedly.

"That seems like torture," Roman moaned. "I'd get so hungry, it'd be awful,"

"I like watching people ice cookies, so I think I get that! But it does make me hungry," Patton nodded.

"I enjoy soap cutting videos. Though I do wonder if the person cutting the soap is wasting it or not," Logan added.

"Yeah, that always bugged me about those videos," Virgil said. "I just want to see some comment that says they've melted and remade the bar they're cutting up," Virgil grumbled. "I also wonder if people actually paint with paint mixing videos or if they just throw it out. It seems like such a waste,"

"I have seen someone cutting a bar clearly made up of chopped pieces. It was very reassuring," Logan said. "Do you experience autonomous sensory meridian response?"

"ASMR? No here, I just like watching people do art!" Patton said cheerily.

"No, I just find those videos relaxing sometimes," Virgil smiled softly and took another sip of coffee.

"I do, but with clicking sounds and whispers," Roman said. "Not any of those videos,"

"I do experience it as well. It is a nice way to enjoy restorative leisure time," Logan supplied. The waitress came back with the things they requested and topped off Virgil's coffee.

"Holy crap, that looks indulgent as sin," Roman muttered as they placed the baked alaska on the table.

"Woo!" Patton exclaimed and picked up the spoon from the plate to dig in. Patton hit the side of the spoon into the meringue and there was a very satisfying crack for something that must have been at least partly pre-prepared to come out this fast. Virgil smirked at Patton's enthusiasm and fished her wallet out of her pants to put her credit card in the check. "Oh my gosh, it's so darn good!" Patton cooed delightedly. Roman also took a bite after watching Patton try it enthusiastically.

"Oh my god. You're missing out, Logan," Roman moaned.

"Why don't you have a bite for curiosity's sake while the opportunity is here?" Virgil asked.

"I am not fond of the idea of sharing a dish with others," Logan said negatively.

"You eat off an edge that hasn't been touched. Pat and Ro aren't sick," Virgil said. She'd be able to smell if they were, anyway.

"Yeah, I'm as healthy as a horse!" Patton said and stopped eating to push the plate towards Logan. "If you don't want to, Lo, it's okay, but you do like trying new things!"

"I am curious. I have never eaten a dessert quite like this," Logan said and picked up one of the spoons from the plate to take a bite. Everybody stared at him for his response. "It is very sweet for my taste, but not an unenjoyable experience," Logan supplied when he saw everybody looking at him. Patton scooted the plate back to between Roman and themself.

"I'm pretty certain that's Lo-speak for he liked it," Patton giggled just before stuffing another big bite in their face.

"Glad to hear it," Virgil smiled with satisfaction and leaven back to watch her friends eat. Roman rolled his eyes and enjoyed more dessert. "I'm gonna go become a he again in the bathroom, be right back," Patton smiled with a full mouth, which Virgil could not resist making a very bemused face at, and Logan nodded.

"Thanks again for dinner, kiddo!" Patton announced as they stepped out of the rideshare after they got back to the dorms. They pulled Virgil into a hug and then yawned widely. "I ate so much that I got sleepy," Patton said with a soft smile and leaned against Virgil.

"Need me to carry you upstairs, Pat?" Virgil joked with a small chuckle.

"I don't need you to, but I think I would like you to," Patton giggled and handed Roman their box of leftovers. Roman laughed and adjusted the boxes in his hands. Virgil was kidding, but it certainly wasn't any skin of Virgil's back.

"I didn't know what was an option," Roman groaned with false remorse. Virgil leaned down and swooped at Patton's legs to carry them in his arms. Patton squealed with delight. Virgil followed the others inside and only got an eyebrow raise from the security guard at the station as Virgil backed into the stairwell.

"I will take the stairs with you to show you the way," Logan offered and held open the door to the stairwell.

"Aw, I don't want to be the only one to take the elevator," Roman groaned and also followed them. Virgil laughed loudly at Roman's stubbornness. He had plenty of strength and endurance now, even plenty of calories to burn, and still didn't like to take the stairs. And he's been calling Virgil a dork.

Virgil looked down at Patton in his arms as they ascended the stairs back up to their dorms because he could feel them trembling slightly. Patton's eyes glittered and had an expression like the secrets of the universe were unlocked. Virgil couldn't help but be a little confused. This wasn't just about carrying them up the stairs, right? This was a pretty weird reaction to, well, anything.

"What's up, Patton?" Virgil asked with a very confused smile. Patton's enthusiasm was palpable, and their heart rate was high. What was so interesting?

"Are you a vampire, Virge?" Patton asked excitedly, nearly bouncing in Virgil's arms. Roman and Virgil paused on the stairs. Wow. What were the odds?


	18. Move Along

"_Um_," Both Roman and Virgil both stalled in unison. Virgil had no idea Patton was so observant and versed on Vampire legends. Or that Patton even believed in vampires in the first place. And they were weirdly excited about it, for somebody who was in a literal predator of the species' arms. That was probably the second most alarming part. The first most alarming part was being caught. But it wasn't the first time Virgil's dealt with this kind of thing.

"Um, what makes you ask that, Pat?" Virgil asked, and he returned to ascending the stairs as nonchalantly as possible. He could feel Roman's panic, but Roman followed after another tense moment's pause.

"I saw your chompers when you laughed! You usually cover your mouth, but you couldn't this time. And you're cold and don't eat! It all adds up!" Patton explained, bouncing a little in Virgil's arms.

"That's ridiculous Patton, there's no such thing as vampires," Logan said evenly. Virgil eyed Patton suspiciously.

"Yeah, that's silly, Pat," Roman said and walked ahead, trying to wave off Patton's suspicions. Patton wasn't having it though, as they got a determined look.

"Why don't you go on ahead to the dorm, Lo-Lo, I want to go up with Virgil and Roman," Patton said with a sweet voice. It was slightly unnerving, the combination of the sugary voice and the unyielding gleam in their eyes.

"I will. I have studying to return to. Good evening, gentlepeople, I found this outing refreshing and enjoyable," Logan said with a small wave and exited the stairwell on his dorm room's level. Virgil and Roman continued up the stairs in silence, Patton acting ready to fight a lion or something in Virgil's arms.

"You can tell me, Virge! I like vampires! I don't want to hurt you or anything," Patton pouted and crossed their arms. Virgil sighed. Patton was probably going to use everything in their arsenal until they got an answer. And Virgil was weak to pouting faces.

"Can this wait till we're less in public, Pat?" Virgil asked plainly. Lots of possibilities flew through Virgil's mind to solve this conundrum. And lots of them that he wasn't a fan of even occurring to him. But this didn't have to be a big deal if he could be careful about it.

"Are you gonna…" Roman started and trailed off. Virgil shook his head.

'I trust them for now. I can always try to wipe them later. It's similar when D found out honestly, but with less kissing involved,' Virgil thought at Roman. Roman jumped and grasped the railing in shock.

"Holy shit, that scared me," Roman said, clutching his heart. "Okay," He took a deep breath and stepped ahead to hold the door on their level open for Virgil.

"Language, please!" Patton frowned. "What scared you, champ?" Patton asked curiously after a moment.

"Um, I heard a door slam?" Roman asked, failing to lie spectacularly. And he called himself an actor. Virgil walked down their dorm hall quickly.

"That sounds like a question, there, slugger. Not an answer," Patton giggled. Virgil rolled his eyes slightly when Roman awkwardly walked ahead of them to get the door without responding. Virigl waited for Roman to unlock the dorm to step in. He set Patton down on Virgil's desk chair while Roman closed the door.

"I am. Did you know another vampire in the past?" Virgil said, exhaling. He wasn't a fan of this conversation, but he also wasn't that worried about kind-of-scared-of-authority and wouldn't-let-Roman-kill-a-stray-centipede Pat doing anything to put Virgil or Deceit in danger.

"No!" They laughed. "I just read lots of stories. It's my philosophy that _everything_ exists until proven otherwise," Patton exclaimed with a sly grin.

"That's a pretty smart philosophy, Pat." Virgil admitted with a chuckle, sitting down on the floor in front of Patton.

"So, Roman knows?" Patton asked brightly and pointed to Roman, who was now sitting with his arms crossed on the chair. Roman looked excited when Patton pointed him out.

"Heck _yeah_, I do! I'm in his clan," Roman proclaimed proudly and uncrossed his arms to pose.

"You're a vampire, too?" Patton exclaimed and their eyes went wide.

"No, he's_ not_ a vampire," Virgil rolled his eyes. "He's just connected with me,"

"Yeah and let me tell you, Virgil's the biggest worry-wart I've ever met," Roman said with a dramatic grimace and tapped his sternum. That must be where he feels Virgil's worry or something.

"Don't make me drop my shield," Virgil grumbled and shot Roman a glare. He was worried up a storm right now, and Roman knew it. Roman held up his hands to signal defeat. Virgil didn't

"Connected like you feel his feelings, then?" Patton asked curiously, leaning forward in the chair.

"Yeah, and Virgil gets mine, though he's better equipped to handle them than I am," Roman said somewhat plaintively.

"No, you're plenty rough, Ro. You have random overdramatic pangs through the day that surprise me," Virgil said a little tersely.

"He can also send me messages telepathically," Roman said, rolling his eyes at Virgil, not acknowledging that he is, in fact, a giant drama queen.

"You can send them too," Virgil corrected him. "I'll teach you later," Roman's eyes lit up and nodded in interest.

"What? I want to see!" Patton exclaimed and leaned down towards Virgil's ear.

"Roman's got steak in his teeth," Patton whispered. Virgil tittered.

'You've got steak in your teeth,' Virgil thought at Roman. Roman bristled and covered his mouth.

"You could have mentioned that earlier!" Roman cried contemptuously and stomped over to the bathroom, presumably to brush his teeth.

"That's so cool!" Patton said and merrily swayed. "Can you connect anybody?"

"I can connect anybody to us, technically, but I don't want to," Virgil said, tinged with a little confusion. He didn't like where this was headed.

"Oh, well of course you wouldn't want to be linked with strangers!" Patton said. "But it sounds like it would be nice to connected your friends! You could chat anytime and be able to help them out!"

"It's awesome Pat! I'm stronger and faster and they said I'd be healthier and live longer," Roman said through the bathroom door. Virgil groaned. Oh, he_ really_ didn't like where this was headed.

"What? That's so cool!" Patton said and clapped. "Would you connect me?" Patton asked hopefully. Virgil bristled and moved to stand in front of Patton, putting a hand on their shoulder.

"Pat, it's for life and it's not always easy and it will make you very sick for a day," Virgil exclaimed in protest, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Oh, that's why you were sick! I surprised you caught a bug at the club when I didn't. My immune system isn't that great," Patton said thoughtfully. "Well, I have class tomorrow, so we couldn't do it today, then," Patton looked like they were considering something for a moment.

"Seriously, the bond can be difficult to handle and I mean it when I say it's for life," Virgil solemnly, trying to impress the weight of this decision on Patton.

"I already want to be friends for life! You're so cool and nice and you take such good care of me! My mom always makes fun of me for making quick friends, but I know I can trust you," Patton said emphatically. Virgil groaned. He was also guilty of getting attached to people quickly lately, but he didn't want Patton making this choice so rashly. "It's not like I'd have to be a vampire! I like the sun and garlic too much,"

"The garlic thing's a myth. Some Vampire probably tried to have garlic bread or something and threw up in public and it got out of hand. People like to feel like they can get the upper hand over things," Virgil said with a heavy sigh.

"Oh, that's good news! I was worried all the pizza we had the other day turned your tummy," Patton said compassionately.

"No, I was just very thirsty. It's kind of how I got into this whole mess," Virgil sighed. "Roman, do you mind being linked with Pat? I can't tell you about Brood dynamics, but maybe Emile knows," Virgil suggested and rubbed his head in frustration. He didn't mind being linked with Pat, it would probably even help Virgil, but he still felt weird about it. But Patton was asking specifically. Just like Deceit did. Just most of his past turns did. Though those asked to be vampires, not his Brood. Maybe that's what made this weird.

"Pat's cool," Roman said. "Their emotions will probably just make me happier. It would be better than the _giant knot_ in _your_ chest," Roman stated as he emerged from the bathroom. Virgil was relieved to hear that Roman had figured that knot wasn't his by himself. He'd successfully identified multiple emotions now, and that was fast. Deceit took weeks. Maybe it was because Virgil and Roman were so different. "I bet Pat is a cuddler,"

"I _am_!" They said excitedly. "Why do you bring it up?"

"The bond makes contact feel awesome," Roman said and walked behind Virgil and squatted down to give him a hug. Virgil was surprised at first but sighed contentedly as Roman pulled him in. Patton must have watched his face soften because theirs got so happy they nearly glowed.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Patton said excitedly. "If you're trying to deter me, you're doing an awful job!" Virgil rolled his eyes.

"You'll also be linked for life with my turned, Deceit, who I will also need to ask. He's probably going to want to meet you. He doesn't live here," Virgil said and paused for a moment. "You would be what we call a Brood. It's technically a way for me to feed easily. But I won't ask you to do that," Virgil started.

"Aw, that's sweet of you! You already have food, right?" Patton asked. Virgil pointed to his mini-fridge and nodded.

"Also, you will not be able to disobey a direct order from me. I also won't do that either unless it's a life or death situation," Virgil said. "Quit hugging me from behind and let me hug you back, doofus," Patton's eyes sparkled as Roman shifted from behind Virgil and leaned against him on the floor.

"You're already so close," Patton said reverently.

"I just called him a doofus, Pat," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Virgil keeps saying it was the bond, but he apparently isn't aware how _likable_ he is under the glowering exterior," Roman said and then, in a delightful twist of irony, punched Virgil in the face. That made Virgil laugh, even though Patton gasped in horror. "Also his face is_ very_ punchable, which is a plus for me," Roman chortled. Maybe his face was very punchable. That would explain all the fights he's been in.

"I don't think his face is punchable! I think it's kissable. I just wanna wipe off his makeup and kiss him everywhere!" Patton exclaimed. Virgil flushed.

"Uh, you can't wipe this off. It won't get on your lips, either. This is a glamor," Virgil said and reached down into his pocket to get out his phone.

"What's a glamor?" Roman asked. Virgil put the phone in selfie mode and his eyes glowed at his image on the screen. "What?" Roman shot, noticing his eyes. Virgil wiped his face with his hand and took off all the makeup. "What?!" Roman exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"Wow!" Patton said with a giggle. "That's a neat power!"

"Can you do that to me?" Roman asked excitedly with a jump.

"I can do it to any clan member. Deceit claims it felt really wrong when I did it to him," Virgil explained and pulled back from Roman instinctively.

"I let you make me snap, come on, let me see!" Roman said. Patton clapped in anticipation. Virgil put his phone on the floor and lit up his eyes, pulling his hand through Roman's hair, it turning bright red as his hands passed through. Roman shivered. "Oh god, that does feel wrong," He shuttered again. Virgil felt a spike of disgust over his shield. "Let me see!" He said and reached for Virgil's phone. Virgil unlocked it and handed it to him in selfie mode.

"That color looks great on you, Roman!" Patton said and dropped down to the floor to run their fingers through it. Roman chuckled. "It's so soft, unlike when I dyed my hair high school!"

"I do like this hair color on me. And I don't have to damage it with bleach to get it like this. You can change it back whenever, right?" Roman asked for clarification.

"Yeah, though, I obviously won't do it in public. I'm surprised you're willing to put up with it again," Virgil said. Roman shivered again, probably in memory. "We got off track. There are other bad things," Virgil said stiffly.

"They can't be that bad if Ro agreed to it," Patton said, dropping their arms from Roman's hair and sitting on the floor with them. Virgil and Roman shared a look.

"He didn't agree to it," Virgil said dourly. "I did it accidentally and told him the next day,"

"Virgil, I swear to god if you give me a guilt trip over this again," Roman threatened. "I would have wanted it either way," Virgil took a deep breath.

"Sorry," Virgil mumbled. "Anyway, you can't donate blood anymore. Also you, um, may be compelled to let me feed on you. You may also eventually get more subservient to me if we're not careful," Virgil said bitterly. "Though with three in the clan that effect may be lessened," Virgil mused, feeling a little hopeful at that.

"I don't mind any of those," Patton said quietly.

"What?" Roman and Virgil said in unison. Patton blushed.

"Oh my_ god,_ you're a secret kinkster, aren't you?" Roman accused. Patton blushed harder.

"Darling, we don't kinkshame in this house, remember?" Virgil said and ruffled Roman's hair. "Well, I suppose that's all the caveats. Is this something you still want, Pat?" Virgil asked with a sigh. Roman flipped out a comb from his pocket and fixed his hair.

"Of course!" Patton agreed joyously, face still tinged with pink. "It'll be so cool!" Virgil sighed. He didn't think Patton was taking this seriously enough, but he wasn't going to argue with their decision. It wasn't Virgil's life to live. Well. He might argue by double, triple, and quadruple checking if that could be considered arguing. He'd at least insist on Pat taking some time to think it over.

"All right," Virgil said and picked up his phone to shoot Deceit a text.

'What is it, love,' Deceit thought to him right away.

'Can you come over again?' Virgil thought back sheepishly.

'Is Roman giving you trouble?' Deceit thought derisively.

'No, but my friend Patton is apparently much more learned and observant than I gave them credit for,'

'You have to be kidding me,' Deceit mentally groaned.

'No, everything is fine, Pat just wants to be Brooded like Roman, nothing that requires any mess,' Virgil thought quickly. 'I just want to see if you're okay with them,'

'That's the bubbly one from Roman's dream, right?' Deceit asked.

'Yeah,' Virgil said. 'Roman's okay with it,'

'Why wouldn't he be?' Deceit mentally laughed. 'I'll be there shortly, love,' Virgil sighed.

"Okay, he's headed over. Play nice, Roman," Virgil said sternly.

"_He's_ the one who doesn't play nice!" Roman objected. Virgil rolled his eyes at their shared cattiness. Deceit would have said the same thing.

"So, um, if we're waiting and all… I don't suppose you'd let me in on the cuddle?" Patton asked quietly.

"I knew you were just as clingy as me," Virgil said with a soft laugh. "I don't think we can all fit on the loft easily, so I hope the floor's fine," Virgil said and laid back, holding out his other arm for Patton. Patton crawled in and snuggled in the crook of Virgil's arm. "There's uh, one more thing Deceit reminded me of," Virgil started carefully.

"What is it?" Patton asked.

"If you find either of us attractive, that feeling will be a little intensified," Virgil mumbled. Patton bristled slightly but didn't comment or object. Virgil squeezed them reassuringly. "Don't worry if you're not interested, I will be a gentleman," Patton shot up and stared at him wide-eyed.

"You will…" They started. Roman stiffened.

"Deceit probably would have outed me when he got here, and I'd rather do it on my own terms," Virgil said pointedly at Roman. "I promise you don't have to do anything you don't want to do and I'll leave you alone if that's what you want," Virgil offered with a slightly morose sigh. "_Right_, Roman?" Virgil asked a little nervously. He didn't want to out Roman either, but he wanted to make sure he would be okay with giving Patton their space.

"Yeah," Roman muttered. "That would be dishonorable. Virgil wouldn't do that," He said a little more firmly. Virgil felt some very conflicted feelings over the shield from Roman. Patton went through a face journey of shock, confusion, consideration, and then finally nodded and laid back down on the floor with them.

"Thanks for trusting me," Virgil said softly. The thrum of reconnection with Deceit hit.

"_Sweet Caroline_!" Roman cried out and grabbed his chest.

"Bah-bah-bah!" Patton sang. Virgil chuckled.

"Deceit's almost here," Virgil alerted them.

'How exactly did you go about spending almost century alone to moving to 2 new brood in a week?' Deceit asked.

'I have genuinely have no idea what I am _ever_ doing,' Virgil admitted offhandedly, though his nervousness was probably clear to Deceit. Deceit chuckled.

'I know this, and I love you,' Deceit thought back.

'You _didn't_,' Virgil thought in surprise and chuckled lightly. That earned an odd look from Roman, but he must have guessed because he got a look of recognition and settled back in.

'You've sent me variations of that meme at least seven times Virgil, get off of tumblr,' Deceit thought humorously. 'I suppose it's better than all the conspiracy theories,' He added. Virgil laughed out loud.

"You know what the coolest part is, Pat?" Roman said.

"What's that?" Patton asked quietly.

"Deceit said we might get magic powers," Roman said smugly.

"What! _Shut up_!" Patton shouted in excitement.

'They're both pretty riled up. Are you about here?' Virgil asked.

'I'll be dropping in on the building shortly, my love,' Deceit thought. 'Just a few more kilometers to go,'

'Thank Hecate,' Virgil inwardly groaned.

"I would like to remind my friends that it is _rare_ for a Brood to get a gift, and that it would probably require consistent feedings," Virgil said with a sigh.

"I'm still deciding. I want to talk with Emile first," Roman said.

"Who's Emile?" Patton asked.

"Virgil's friend Remy's Brood," Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman claiming Remy was a 'friend' of Virgil's. Remy was almost an antithesis of Virgil's… well, a lot of him. Virgil liked variety, though, and wouldn't have pegged himself befriending Roman or Patton either. Maybe Roman could just already call it.

There was a long pause. Roman and Patton both seemed to consider something. They're both ridiculous dreamers and probably thinking about superpowers or something. Virgil appreciated the moment of reprieve, though it made him nervous. Roman was already convinced he'd get a gift, and Virgil really didn't want to see his friends disappointed if they didn't get one.

Virgil sensed Deceit's proximity and tapped both their shoulders and took his arms off Patton and Virgil on the floor.

"Scoot for a moment so I can let Deceit in," Virgil said. Both Patton and Roman whined in protest and moved off of Virgil. Virgil got up and unlocked the door, Deceit's smug face grinning at him. Virgil sighed and motioned for Deceit to come in, closing the door after him.

"Roman's dreams didn't do you justice, darling," Deceit purred smoothly as he stepped in the doorway and made eye contact with Patton on the floor. Patton looked wide-eyed between Deceit and Roman. Virgil smacked his hand over Deceit's mouth and pulled him in for a hug. Deceit glared at him through the side of his eye, and Virgil sighed.

"Please don't go scaring Patton, too," Virgil said bitterly and let go.

"Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do," Deceit said sarcastically.

"Love, you stepped in and ran your mouth," Virgil explained and spun Deceit towards him for a proper hug, holding him close. "It's nice to see you again," Deceit pulled him in for a soft kiss, having forgiven Virgil surprisingly quickly. Virgil smiled and caressed his cheek for a moment before motioning to Patton on the floor. "That's Pat, looking shocked and embarrassed on the floor, why don't you get acquainted and see if you're okay with them joining the clan," Virgil said and pushed Deceit Pat's way.

"Enchanté," Deceit purred and leaned over to take Patton's hand and supply it with a kiss. Patton flushed brightly.

"Oh, _they_ get a nice greeting and you threaten to kill _me_!" Roman groaned.

"They're excited and not feeling hostile, dear, but if you want a hug and sweet nothings now, I am happy to supply them," Deceit cooed. Roman bristled and crossed his arms, looking away.

"Aw, go give Ro a hug if you had a bad meeting last time," Patton pouted. Deceit chuckled and stood up, walking over to Roman, who just stared back at him confused. Deceit swiftly pulled Roman off the floor and span him around the room and gently hugged him. Roman was stiff for a moment but relaxed into the hug. Deceit whispered directly into Roman's ear. Virgil didn't catch what it was through his headphones, but whatever it was, Roman turned scarlet and Virgil felt the embarrassment over his shield.

"Deceit, I know you don't enjoy keeping secrets, but please don't throw Patton under the bus like you did with me and Ro. It's been awkward," Virgil sighed.

"Fine. But only because it's _obvious_," Deceit said and let Roman go to sit next to Patton.

"Tell me, darling, you aren't hesitant at all. Is this just your way? To live unabashedly?" Deceit said and took hold of Patton's hand again. Patton flushed.

"I guess so," Patton said shyly, tapping their pointer fingers together.

"Then, I approve, Virgil needs some impulsiveness sometimes, even if it scares him,"

"Oh, as if two new Brood isn't impulsive enough," Virgil groaned and crossed his arms, lolling his head dramatically.

"And I could clearly use your sunshine, because this stormcloud can wear on me even if I love him," Deceit said with a dark laugh. Virgil pouted. "Oh, come _on_, dearest," Deceit laughed at Virgil.

"You don't need to ask me anything else?" Patton asked.

"No, my gift is very intrusive and I already know too much, I'm sure. Virgil speaks glowingly of you. He described you as 'standing in the summer sun without all the painful boils'," Deceit explained with a chuckle.

"Gross," Roman said with disgust, sticking out his tongue.

"They really are gross," Virgil agreed. He wasn't a fan of the blisters.

"You're all gross," Roman groaned and threw up his hands in frustration. Virgil laughed and walked over to give Roman a hug and kissed his temple. Roman grumbled but hugged back. Patton looked around the room with embarrassment for a moment.

"What's wrong, dear?" Deceit cooed to Patton.

"Vampires are polyamorous, Pat," Roman said with a sigh.

"Oh! I was worried he was cheating on one of you, but I couldn't tell which!" Patton said with a laugh. Roman bristled.

"We're not dating," Roman supplied a little too quickly. Ouch. "Virgil's just affectionate. We haven't talked about that yet," He trailed off slightly. Roman basically started it by demanding to cuddle and was probably almost as affectionate as him at this point, but Roman seemed defensive about it, so Virgil kept quiet.

"Yet?" Deceit asked and raised his eyebrows. Virgil mirrored his look, feeling a little blindsided.

"I'm considering that, too," Roman said shyly, which was new from him. Virgil was kind of surprised.

"Sounds like you will be having an eventful semester, love, and I can't say I'm not jealous," Deceit cooed and stood up from the floor next to Patton and hugged Virgil, also encasing Roman. "What about that other boy you like?" Deceit asked. Virgil glared at Deceit. "Fine, love, I'll drop it. I haven't fed yet and your friends smell too delicious to even feed around, so I will take my leave," Deceit said softly. Virgil angled his head and kissed Deceit. Deceit popped a kiss on the top of Roman's head before letting go.

"Safe Travels, love. Next weekend, maybe? Or the one after that? I miss you," Virgil said, and let go of Roman to follow Deceit to the door and unlock it. Deceit smiled sweetly and planted a kiss on Virgil's cheek. That wasn't an answer, but they could talk about it later. It was a good sign for them that he didn't respond, though. They held hands briefly and let them slip from the doorway. Virgil sighed and re-locked it behind him.

"Honestly, Pat, you're doing me a favor too, by doing this. D likes his independence, and I always hurt him and have to pull away. It'll be easier around him," Virgil said as he walked back over to them both. Patton looked like they would tear up.

"Oh, now I want to do it even more! You're so sweet together!" Patton sniffled and stood up to hug Virgil.

"Don't cry, Pat!" Virgil shot, holding up his hands in confusion, feeling embarrassed and awkward as Patton clung on teary-eyed.

"Do the roller-coaster thing, that'll fix it!" Roman suggested with a bubbly chortle, grinning at Patton.

"The roller coaster thing?" Patton sniffed.

"You don't have vertigo, do you?" Virgil asked. Patton shook their head, looking sad and confused.

"Then hold on tight," Virgil said, and grasped Patton and jumped to the ceiling. They shrieked in surprise but then giggled as they looked up to the floor.

"See? Fixed it," Roman said with a resolute nod. Virgil picked up Patton slightly off the ceiling and walked over Roman.

"Package delivery," Virgil said with a smirk. "You ready, Pat?" Virgil asked. Patton nodded and giggled. Virgil carefully reoriented Patton and dropped them into Roman's outstretched arms. They shrieked with laugher again.

"That was wild!" They said and hugged Roman, nuzzling his chest. Roman flushed and chuckled, carefully letting Patton stand on their own, and Virgil dropped from the ceiling. "Is there anything else you can do?"

"Other than compelling people, I hope," Roman added, sounding as if even mentioning it was distasteful.

"I can flit?" Virgil said, almost as a question, feeling a little shy.

"What's that?" Patton asked excitedly.

"It's like flying up and dropping. It's kinda part of the gravity thing. Not exactly turning into a bat and flying away, but it's fun," Virgil said. "It's how Deceit gets here so fast when he lives and works over 20 miles away,"

"Oh, my god, take me! Take me flitting!" Roman cried out in excitement.

"That's way too dangerous, Ro, if something happens mid-air and I drop you I won't be able to catch you every time," Virgil said in aghast.

"You're such a debbie-downer," Roman groaned. "Maybe Deceit'll take me next time he comes back," Virgil stiffened.

"Motherfucker, you know I won't ask him to not do that," Virgil grumbled. Now Patton looked aghast. "Sorry, Pat, I've been cursing for centuries and it's hard to stop,"

"You should mix in some Edwardian insults or something to mix it up so Patton is too confused to be upset,"

"You zounderkite, you won't get the insults either, and that's sort of important," Virgil said inauspiciously. Roman and Patton both looked oddly at him. "Okay, maybe every once in a while so I can see your faces,"

"Anyway, when do you want to get bit, Pat?" Roman asked, shaking the confusion off with a little shiver. "I was sick for a whole day so it will have to be a day off,"

"I have to get bit?" Patton said and wrung their hands, flushing.

"You can back out anytime, Pat," Virgil reminded Patton swiftly. "We can still hang out as normal human friends. Nobody's forcing you to do this,"

"No, it's okay, I… just… well…" Patton trailed off. Virgil remembered why Patton was embarrassed.

"I don't have to do it on your neck or anything, I can just bite your wrist," Virgil offered with a small smirk.

"No, I wanna be bit on the neck!" Patton blurted, their words blurring together. Both Roman and Virgil looked at each other in surprise. There was a pause. "I don't have work on Saturday as long as I can be okay by an early Sunday morning shift," Patton mumbled.

"Wow, this week?" Virgil asked, a little wearily. "There's no time limit, Pat, I'm sort of here forever,"

"No, I wanna do it soon," Patton said. "You're all so sweet on each other," Patton whispered almost silently. Virgil was pretty certain he wasn't supposed to hear that, so he didn't acknowledge it to save Patton any further embarrassment. They were still pink from the whole biting thing. Maybe Virgil should have questioned why Patton seemed excited to talk to him in the first place.

"Let me know if you need me to arrange anything or help with your homework," Virgil smiled softly and Patton nodded.

"I'm gonna go downstairs to bed now," Patton mumbled and rubbed their arm. Patton was clearly very embarrassed and Virgil felt really bad. Virgil took a shot and held his arms open in case Patton wanted a final hug. They did, seeing as they nearly ran into his arms, nuzzling his chest as Virgil held them. Roman went around and hugged Patton as well. Virgil could feel them smile against his hoodie. Well, at least that was nice. Didn't change the fact that Virgil was terrified he'd accidentally fucked Pat's life up by laughing.


	19. BLK CLD

"I can't believe you're biting Patton tonight," Roman said as they walked towards the theatre hall for the club. "We've only been here a few weeks and you already have 2 fancy vampire slaves," Virgil tried to glower at him, but it must have been ineffective behind the large sunglasses and mask he was hiding from the sun under. "If you're trying to communicate something, it's lost on my, Tempy,"

"You know that's not my last name. Why are you still calling me that?" Virgil asked bitterly.

"I call you Tempy when you're being temperamental, Just like I call you stormcloud when you're being a sadsack," Roman said with a smirk.

"Oh, so I have a naming scheme, now," Virgil groaned.

"Deceit called you stormcloud, too, I'm not the only one who thinks it," Roman said in a sing-song voice.

"I know it's affectionate when he insults me. We've been dating on and off for hundreds of years," Virgil said bitterly. "Not like when someone I like is saying I rain on their parade," Roman stopped walking and Virgil turned around in confusion to face him. Roman gave him a hug and pulled back to show his smile.

"It's affectionate from me, too, get it through your stupid thick vampire skull," Roman said and knocked on his head through the hoodie. "I like you too, remember?" Virgil blushed under his mask.

"I notice you've been attacking me more," Virgil said, changing the subject, feeling awkward. Roman rolled his eyes and kept walking forward.

"Well, now I know you can take it and I won't shatter your frail nerdy bones," Roman said humorously. "I always roughhoused with Remus. It's not like it'll hurt you,"

"That's fair," Virgil said. "I don't mind the contact," Virgil admitted quietly.

"Yeah, Deceit may have told me to cuddle you for him," Roman said. "I'd rather cuddle you for me, though," Roman added with a chuckle. "What was your 'last life' that left you feeling all clingy in this one?"

"I was a businessman named Samuel," Virgil said coolly.

"Oh, that's why you jumped down my throat about my major," Roman said, his voice mixed with humor and interest. "Was it really that bad?" He asked curiously.

"I was days away from slaughtering nearly everyone in the building," Virgil said darkly. Roman grimaced. "And I would have been doing the entire planet a favor. I left quickly. Samuel is a 'missing person' now, but I left a suicide note, so they won't be looking,"

"I wonder how many missing person's cases are linked with vampires," Roman asked thoughtfully, tilting his head as he considered it.

"I don't know, probably a decent amount," Virgil mused bitterly and sighed. "If not vampires themselves, but also victims,"

"I can't imagine very timid you snapping and killing a whole building of people," Roman stated quietly after a moment.

"I don't know if you figured this out from me and Remy's conversation or not, but Vampires get more unhinged the older they get. I'm scared of lots of things for a reason. Deceit thinks it's how I've made it so long without an inquisition," Virgil chuckled nervously and weakly sighed. "I have done some incredibly horrible things in my past and I'm trying to keep them there," Virgil explained barely above a whisper.

"Now's not the time, stormcloud," Roman said and pulled him into another hug. "You've been doing great for a long time, right? You've made it this far and you're doing your best. That's something to be proud of," Virgil wished he could pull his hands out of his pockets to hug him back. "Come on, you have to see how fun theatre is. And give a chance for this star to shine. And I will shine, goddamnit," Roman said passionately and planted a kiss on his masked cheek. Roman let him go, and they started walking towards the building again.

Virgil nodded and tried to breathe and let it go. He didn't want to ruin this for Roman. And he was right. Now is not the time. He was doing better. Roman was an accident, but he promises he loves it, and Virgil can feel that. Another person trusts him enough to go through it, too. That means something.

"Thanks for the rainbow," Roman smiled with a relieved sigh, feeling Virgil's mood lift. "Let's go in there and crush it!" Roman cheered, hooking into Virgil's arm as they entered the building.

Roman and Virgil walked into the theatre. The kind of old smell was weirdly calming for Virgil. He took off his sunglasses and mask now that they were in the dark again, slipping them into his hoodie pocket. Something in the back row caught Virgil's arm as they walked down the aisle and yanked him to a stop. Both he and Roman turned around in confusion. It was Thomas, who smiled and waved politely to Roman but didn't let Virgil go.

"Um, go on ahead, Ro," Virgil said. "I'll catch up," Roman looked concerned, but walked on down the aisle with a small shrug.

"You know, you said you weren't here to snack on the members," Thomas said and pulled Virgil farther into the row to talk. Virgil looked at the exit in worry but let Thomas pull him in for privacy. Virgil gripped the chair handles and sat down. "Do you mind telling me what that's about so I maybe don't have to worry about it happening again?"

"I, uh, wasn't sure I should or could tell you over the phone," Virgil said with a sigh and tried to focus on not getting too panicked for Roman. "Listen, Ro's still getting a hang of disambiguation and he's been suffering my bad mood all morning, can we please lighten up a bit?"

"Is it appropriate to lighten the mood?" Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I promise," Virgil said and held up his left hand.

"Okay, sure," Thomas smiled. "It's not like I can attack you and live to tell the tale or anything," Thomas added with a dark laugh. "I have no idea why you'd be so nervous with me. I thought all Alphas would be like Remy and give zero fucks,"

"I'm not sure there's anybody quite like Remy," Virgil laughed weakly. "He delivered some units and within the 15 minutes he was there he demanded Roman and I double date with him and Emile to a rave. What vampire in their right mind wants to be at a Rave?" Virgil groaned. Thomas chuckled lightly.

"So, speaking of Roman…" Thomas said, returning them to the subject at hand.

"Yeah, so... I wasn't in my right mind and went to a club. I was less in my right mind when I got home. And my sweaty roommate with a loudly pounding heart took off his shirt, and I found out he was AB-negative. I was even less in my right mind when I bit him," Thomas whistled.

"AB-Negative. Really. Holy crap," Thomas muttered with a little impressed whistle.

"I explained it to him and for some unholy reason, he loves it? He even convinced one of my other friends to join him tonight. Well. After my other friend found me out when they saw my fangs and wanted to do it themselves. Much to my objections, anyway…" Virgil trailed off, still pretty dissatisfied with the outcome.

"Aw, you were so good about covering your mouth last Friday," Thomas said in disappointment.

"I was carrying them at the time," Virgil sighed. "Probably a dumb mistake. Patton already believed in us, though. It might not have been long till they found me out either way. They didn't want to dismiss anything,"

"That's the other friend, I take it?" Thomas asked and Virgil nodded. "Now that you have two Brood, I'll take all that spare blood off your hands. Remy said you bought a ton of rares," Thomas said, rubbing his hands together.

"No, I'm not feeding on them. Pat wants the empathy and telepathy and Roman wants the physical boost would kill for a gift," Virgil explained, holding his hands up. "I'm not feeding on either of them unless they want me to without clear influence from the compulsion,"

"Geez, you are restraint city around an AB-Negative," Thomas hissed, sounding a mixture of impressed and disappointed.

"I had A-positive after I took a sip, and honest to Hecate, it tasted like grave dirt," Virgil groaned. "I'm old, I have to be careful,"

"So it was a happy little accident?" Thomas asked and motioned like he was using a paintbrush.

"Yeah," Virgil mumbled. "I knew there was a risk coming back to university, but I couldn't have anticipated this outcome," Virgil groaned.

"Hey, it's really not bad. I accidentally thralled someone in the showers who had an open cut. I leaped over the top of the stall, stark-naked," Thomas said with a groan. "I tried to send him to bed, but I wasn't clear enough and he went to sleep on a bench in the showers," He told his story sound a little ashamed. Virgil broke out laughing from the ridiculousness of it all and so did Roman across the room.

"Oh my god, Thomas, I'm sorry, but that's one of the funniest thralling stories I've ever heard," Virgil said, still chuckling a little, holding on to Thomas's shoulder.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about disambiguation troubles," Thomas said. "You should get couples Therapy from Emile or something, he's a psychiatrist. He can probably sort it out,"

"Oh, you've met Emile?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah, Remy likes to catch up after delivering. Sometimes Emile comes with him. As much as Remy claims to hate him, they're really attached at the hip sometimes,"

"I wonder if Emile likes him because Remy's clearly a basket case even though he's still young," Virgil chuckled.

"Remy's young?" Thomas asked, confused.

"Yeah, for an alpha he is, it's not even 500 yet," Virgil replied.

"Holy crap, how the hell old are you? I'm only 156!" Thomas quietly exclaimed.

"Oh my Hecate, you're a baby!" Virgil said and wrapped his arms around Thomas and squeezed. "Let me spoil you, child, what do you want? Oh, goodness, Deceit might buy you a car or something when he finds out," Thomas pushed Virgil off of him.

"I don't need spoiling," Thomas said in a huff.

"Did you know that Deceit's a multi-millionaire… liquid? On-hand funds? Vampires pay good money to get off the hook and get new lives," Virgil tempted him coyly. "How do you think I could afford all those rares?" Virgil smirked.

"Holy crap. Okay, maybe I want spoiling," Thomas breathed. Virgil heard the meeting get called to session upfront.

"Is your phone secure? You've had it sent off to a hacker?" Virgil asked quickly and Thomas nodded, wide-eyed. "Here, let me get you his private cell. I've told him about you already, he's going to have a fit. You got to tell him," Virgil took Thomas's phone and typed as fast as the phone would let him and entered him as D so he could head upfront for the meeting.

The meeting was about discussing the play that was chosen and talk about what they were looking for in each person they were to cast as a character. The play picked by a poll was Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. Current day-ish and the early 1800s, which is a time frame Virgil was familiar with. They were also aging up Thomasina a year. Another thing Virgil appreciated. Virgil nearly burned the book when he first read it.

Anybody who was interested in tech alone was allowed to leave while they discussed the important roles and what they were looking for during auditions. Virgil was the only one that left. There were 15 roles and 23 people still seated and interested in being cast, so a few more people would probably join them. That meant, for now, there were 4 people in tech and Virgil was the only uninitiated one, so Kai took Virgil around while Elliot and Mitchell tried to narrow down the things they would need to make based on what was leftover from the previous year's productions.

Kai diligently showed everything without making a fuss about the specifics, which Virgil was grateful for. He had a pretty good idea about how these things worked. He just needed to learn the meanings of the weird labels, which Kai rattled off with each passing item.

Kai entered a door on the far right side of the stage behind the curtains to the storage room, where Elliot and Mitchell were digging through things and seemingly arguing off and on. He and Kai went up a spiral staircase near the doorway, Elliot and Mitchell not even acknowledging them entering while they bickered. It led into a room with a long hallway to the back of the theatre seating and to the catwalk. Virgil stared at it longingly.

"You like heights, huh?" Kai asked. "It is pretty cool up there, but it's kind of rickety. If we have to change the lights or effects up there, we can see if it'll take your weight and you can help with that," Virgil laughed inwardly about that, his weight wouldn't be an issue. Kai lead him down the long hall to the control room.

"This is the box," Kai said as they entered. "I can't do much heavy lifting or running around, so it's usually me in here during showtime. We can train you on it if you want. If there's time after we handle sets, anyway, they'll want you backstage for the show,"

"That's cool. I know how some of this stuff works. I'm kind of familiar with the sound mixer and spotlights, but I wouldn't mind seeing how the rest works later." Virgil eyed all the buttons and switches curiously.

"I thought you said you were never in theatre tech," Kai looked suspiciously at Virgil.

"I wasn't. I have helped set up rock shows before," Virgil shrugged.

"Ah, teenage rebellion. Stick it to the man," Kai said, crossing his arms and nodding sagely, then throwing up the horns. "This is an older sound mixer board so you might have the gist of it if you helped with that before. Audio engineering is kind of iffy in an old theatre like this, so sometimes we trade it off. Eventually, your ears just stop hearing the problem and it's better to tag out," Kai explained. "You haven't taken off those expensive cans since ever, so I think it's safe to assume you're kind of an audiophile?" Virgil shrugged.

"It's not far off," Virgil dismissively. It was really more that he just had unreasonably sensitive ears and loved music. He wasn't obsessed with high-fidelity music reproduction. He'd probably have been an audio engineering major by now if that was the case.

"That could be helpful. Well, you've seen it all other than the other hall that goes to a ladder on the left half of the stage and has the elevator, so let's go take the elevator, I've had my fill of stairs today," Virgil held up his hands and shook his head. Kai raised his eyebrow.

"I'll take the ladder. Are we joining them in the storage room?" Virgil asked quickly.

"Yeah, you can help them move things around while I help them argue," Kai said humorously. Virgil gave him a thumbs up and they separated at the elevator while Virgil headed to the ladder to the stage. The upper part of the ladder on the walk went into a tight, dark tube that he wasn't sure where it went, but it was open on the walk and he climbed down and crossed the stage again.

"It's too expensive!" He heard Mitchell say as he walked across the stage to the door.

"I'm not saying we have to do it, just that it would look better," Elliot said emphatically.

"Our budget is garbage, we shouldn't even be entertaining that the idea," Mitchell said, louder than what was civil as Virgil entered the room.

"Gentlefolk, please, I'm not a fan of raised voices," Virgil said, holding up his hands as he walked up to them from the doorway. "I don't think anyone else is, either. Kai will be back in a second. What's going on?"

"If you don't want to deal with yelling, then you're welcome to leave again," Mitchell said and pointed to the door.

"Dude, settle the fuck down," Virgil offered and rolled his eyes. "What do you think looks better, Elliot?"

"The backdrop with the window frames. The painted windows just Don't look as good. I didn't say we had to do it or anything," Elliot mumbled.

"If we can make them, then why don't we?" Virgil asked, shifting his weight and putting his hand on his hip.

"Are you deaf? We don't have the budget!" Mitchell kept up the raised angry voice, much to Virgil's ire. Virgil had to stop himself from entertaining some fun ideas on getting him to shut up.

"I'll buy it. I don't care," Virgil huffed and crossed his arms. He was getting pretty sick of this dude already and just wanted to shut him up.

"How the fuck are you going to afford it, fish?" Mitchell demanded.

"I know you people are idiots, but Virgil here has been wearing three hundred dollar headphones since we met him," Kai said, strolling in. "I could hear you through the door, Mitchell, settle the fuck down," He said and sat on an antique chair.

"Holy shit, dude, how have you not been mugged already?" Elliot asked, wide-eyed.

"Because of kind, decent people. And people like you guys who have no idea what good headphones are," Virgil shrugged. "I can also break most of your sets by hand, so I'm not worried about it," Virgil said, looking around at all the plywood.

"Oh, I want to see that," Mitchell said, suddenly much less shouty. Finally. Virgil shook his head in disdain.

"People worked on these sets, dude, have a fucking heart. If we can do it and have the time, somebody can give me a list of what's missing to do it and we'll have windows that aren't dumb," Virgil resisted the urge to flip off a literal stranger he was stuck working with.

"Perfect. Great. Mitchell, quit being a fucking yelling piss-baby and let's talk about the sets and maybe teach Virgil what we're looking for, like what the club is actually for?"

"Yeah, okay, sounds good. Virgil, will you help me search for any plants we already have lying around so we can account for those? Then we need to look for 18th century English townhouse decor. The chair Kai's sitting in might work,"

"That thing's styled early 1900s, not 1800s," Virgil said looking at it.

"Not everyone is a fucking furniture savant, they won't notice," Mitchell said started pouring over the inventory pages with Kai. Virgil shrugged.

"That is absolutely the weirdest skill I've ever seen," Elliot remarked, sounding impressed.

"We're going to have to find some gowns," Kai groaned. "If the inventory is right, we'll still need to make one more,"

"We can possibly borrow that from the other theatre if they're not using them for their production," Mitchell said thoughtfully. It was nice to hear him calmed back down. Dude had anger issues. It seemed like Kai knew how to shut him up, at least.

"Do you have any other weird talents that might be helpful, V?" Elliot asked from behind a big fake pillar.

"Maybe? I haven't seen this play, and it's been a really long time since I read the book," Virgil said, lifting another 1900s wooden chair to bring over to the other one next to Kai while he was thinking about it. Mitchell sat down in it without comment when Virgil put it down.

"V, we've got a wood table somewhere around here that goes with these chairs, keep an eye out for it," Kai said without looking up from the inventory. "It's probably behind something big, but we can use it to hold all the smaller set pieces we need for now," That made sense. Virgil started looking behind large things for the table. He idly wondered if somebody would let him come in after-hours to organize this nightmare of a storage room. It was kind of setting him off. If he wasn't careful, he might end up breaking in and doing it either way.

Virgil moved a large plywood backdrop and finally found the table and also a pair of potted fake plants. Virgil re-angled the backdrop and slid the other two legs of the table in Kai and Mitchell's Direction. Picking it up was too much, and it had felt furniture movers on the feet already.

"Damn, V, you're fucking jacked. There's still a few more of these chairs to find," Kai grumbled as Virgil dragged the table in a large enough empty spot near them.

"At your service," Virgil said with a dramatic bow and headed back into the crevice to look for more in the depths. Going on a scavenger hunt in a packed storage room was much more fun than Virgil would have expected. Roman was probably right that he was well-suited for this. Virgil had never considered theatre before. It wasn't a good idea to be near the public eye, so it never crossed his mind. But if Virgil stayed out of group photos, it probably wouldn't be an issue. Virgil hissed victoriously when he found another matching chair behind a fake painting. It's criminal they weren't stored together, but it was fun trying to find them.

"So, was everything okay with Thomas?" Roman asked as they exited the building and headed back to the dorms.

"Oh, yeah. It was fine. I wasn't sure if I should tell him you got brooded over the phone or not, so instead of asking him, I just didn't tell him like an idiot. His phone is fine. I got a great thrall story for my embarrassment, at least. Oh, I found out how young he is, he's an absolute baby," Virgil smiled under his mask, shaking his head affectionately.

"How young is he?" Roman asked curiously, pulling ahead of Virgil as they walked back.

"156! So cute!" Virgil cooed and raised his shoulders, trying to fight the urge to take his hands out of his safe pockets.

"Jesus, Virge, what am I if he's a baby?" Roman jeered.

"A gleam in your father's eye," Virgil offered, catching back up to Roman.

"That's disgusting," Roman stuck out his tongue and made a face, elbowing Virgil in the arm.

"You asked," Virgil shrugged indifferently.

"Human children don't like being forced to remember the harsh reality that their parents ever had sex. Please remember that for my sake," Roman shuddered as if the very thought was harrowing.

"You make it sound like I'm an alien," Virgil huffed.

"Well, you kind of are," Roman rolled his eyes. Virgil made a mock offended noise. "Did you like crew?" Roman prodded him with his elbow and smiled knowingly.

"I wouldn't mind doing it again. It's better than listening to you harass me about it every waking moment," Virgil grinned behind his mask. Roman made some offended noises that were probably much more real.

"I would have dropped it eventually," Roman objected to Virgil's implications indignantly.

"Keyword being eventually. If you started mentally pestering me about it, I might have had to test your new durability level," Virgil playfully threatened.

"Rude," Roman pouted, crossing his arm. Virgil pushed him with his shoulder affectionately.

"I'm kidding, I wouldn't do anything that would risk me smelling your blood again," Virgil offered.

"Oh, so my safety isn't relevant?" Roman asked, sounding very offended.

"If I smelled your blood again, your safety would be the problem," Virgil laughed darkly. "I'm sick of eating junk food," He added sourly.

"So you're saying I could have bribed you to stick it out with dinner if you changed your mind about staying?" Roman asked curiously, sounding amused.

"Shit, probably. Fresh AB-negative? I think I'd give in embarrassingly fast," Virgil admitted with a humorous tone. "I still don't get why it's a big deal if I joined this stupid club with you, but I don't hate it," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"You don't hate it? That's high praises for you," Roman raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"Looking for stuff in storage was fun. I guess I have a calling working in museums I didn't know about," Virgil shrugged.

"You probably belong in a museum," Roman shoved him playfully, smirking.

"I don't pay enough attention to major human events, probably. But if you want to know if it's romantic or baroque, I would know. Considering anybody could do that in one semester of art history, it's not that helpful of a skill," Virgil mused.

"I was calling you ancient, you dork," Roman laughed and punched Virgil in the arm.

"Oh," Virgil blushed and hunched his shoulders.

"You're so fucking cute," Roman looped his arm into Virgil's. Virgil looked around nervously, but it probably wasn't too much.

"Maybe we should get delivery for dinner," Virgil changed the subject quickly, thankful for his mask.

"You are like non-human Teflon, honest to god. Sure, I'll text Pat," Roman huffed and pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket.

"Isn't all Teflon non-human?" Virgil rolled his eyes. Roman threw up his arms in frustration.

"I will get you to accept a compliment one of these days, mark my words," Roman declared resolutely, shaking his fist in the air dramatically.


	20. Kiss Your Demons Away

"And you're _positive_ you want to go through with this, Pat?" Virgil asked timidly. They were sitting in Virgil's dorm and chatting until it was the scheduled time to bite Patton. Patton and Roman were sitting in the desk chairs and Virgil had been sitting on the floor while the were chatting.

"For the hundredth time, _yes_, you silly billy," Patton said, accompanied by rare Patton eye-roll. Virgil and Roman must have been rubbing off on them. Their comforting smile never left their face, though.

"My name is Lapis," Virgil dead-panned, and Roman and Patton both chuckled. Virgil stood up and walked over to his desk. He leaned down and swept Patton out of his desk chair and held them close. Patton came over to their dorm dressed in their pajamas already, a pair of super-soft pajama pants and a way too big t-shirt with a cat on it. Their style was just so cute.

"Do you want to kick Roman out?" Virgil asked softly, just in case it would make Patton more comfortable. Patton did imply they were into biting and he didn't want them to feel awkward.

"_Hey_," Roman objected, sitting backward on his chair and resting his head on his arms. He has also already changed for bed, too, a pair of red jogger-style pajama pants and a plain white shirt. He scowled momentarily at Virgil.

"That's just the compulsion talking and he can be a _big boy_ if you want privacy," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. Virgil may have trapped himself in a weird and uncomfortable situation where two people will stare at him while he feeds. That was a relatively mild price to pay for his friends to be happy and healthy. It's against Virgil's instincts and better judgment, but not really an end of the world scenario. He wouldn't mind most of his problems being this simple, actually.

"No, I don't mind," Patton said softly, a little pink in the cheeks. Their heart rate was a little elevated, so Virgil swayed them gently to soothe them.

"Remember, this is going to hurt for just a moment before the venom kicks in. Are you ready?" Virgil asked and sat down on the floor, gently holding Patton in his arms. Patton nodded and rolled their head away to expose their neck for him. Virgil bit down and got a little yelp from Patton, but they didn't move or complain further. Virgil drank as little blood as he could manage to constrain himself of this fresh blood to help with the flow of the venom. After a few life-affirming sips, he stopped to just let it flow from his fangs for a moment before withdrawing and licking the puncture marks to heal them.

Patton let out a gasp from held breath and rubbed their neck, pulling back their hand and examining it. Maybe they were checking for blood? They looked satisfied and smiled after a second of analysis.

"I wouldn't leave marks on you, sunlight," Virgil cooed and stroked Patton's arm. "You're AB-positive if you were curious," He said softly. Patton nodded, blushing. "Let's watch that movie on my bunk till you get sleepy," Virgil added gently and stood to step up the ladder with Pat still in his arms. Roman climbed up right after him and loaded the laptop with the movie. Patton wanted to watch Tangled afterword. Virgil held Patton's upper half in his lap with Roman leaning against him on the side and they watched the intro quietly.

"Hey, Pat," Roman got Patton's attention by tapping their legs.

"Yeah, Ro?" Patton responded with half-lidded eyes, still watching the movie.

"Was it scary?" Roman asked quietly.

"No," Patton shook their head and nuzzled Virgil's chest. "I'm excited," Patton added with a smile.

"I foresee having to kick cuddle monster Pat out of our dorm to get some sleep in the future," Roman said and softly chucked and pet Patton's leg.

"That's one monster I'm okay with making, I think," Virgil mused. "And a sacrifice I'm willing to make," He added and rubbed his nose against Patton's head. Patton tittered and blushed slightly.

They had reclined and watched the movie with little interruption. Roman barely even snarked at the movie or sang along. He probably was trying to be nice and not wake Patton up much. There was eventually an intrusion that surprised Patton despite their efforts, though. A knock sounded at the door and Roman paused the movie. He got up and crawled down the ladder to answer it. It was nearly 10 PM at this point and Virgil was pretty confused about who was visiting. After a moment, though, he recognized the scent through the muddled smells of the dorms.

"It's Logan, Ro, it's safe," Virgil said adjusted Patton slightly so they could see Logan.

"Hey, Logan, what's up?" Roman asked as he stepped aside to let Logan step in, then closed the door behind him.

"I was wondering where Patton was," Logan glanced around and met eyes with Patton waving slowly from Virgil's loft.

"We're watching Tangled," Roman said. "There are only 30 minutes left, but you're welcome to join us. You said you weren't fond of cartoons before, so we didn't ask," He explained with a small shrug.

"Yes, that was astute. I would not have been interested. I also am not sure there is physically any more space on Virgil's loft. You are already on top of each other. May I recommend an air mattress and a projector to the ceiling for the future? I believe an air mattress with some pillows would make a better watching surface that you could easily put away,"

"That's a great idea, Logan," Virgil enthusiastically complimented Logan, trying not to be too loud and disturb Patton resting in his arms.

"I wouldn't have minded being asked, though. I may be willing to try one from time to time," Logan smiled up to Patton who golf clapped with a bright smile.

"Sounds good. I wasn't a cartoon fan either, other than Disney films. They're slowly converting me," Virgil smirked and rubbed Patton's arm.

"Virgil, would you be interested in a Greek pottery exhibit that has made a stop at the local museum on Sunday? They have a selection of broken pottery with poetry on them, which looks fascinating," Logan asked and dug one shoe slightly into the carpet. His voice didn't show it at all, but his heart rate said he was a little nervous. That was cute as fuck.

"I'd love to, when is it?" Virgil asked. Roman rolled his eyes and muttered 'nerds' under his breath.

"10 AM would be an ideal time to visit, in my opinion," Logan suggested, sounding very pleased.

"I'm free then, I'll meet you downstairs at 9:30. I'll be looking forward to it," Virgil said and smiled at Logan.

"Excellent. I will be going to bed shortly, Patton, so please be quiet when you return," Logan said and turned around to leave. Roman closed the door and seemed to listen to Logan's steps recede down the hall before turning to face them again.

"That nerd?" Roman asked, with a slight scoff. "I thought you had higher standards than that,"

"Hey, he's so open and inquisitive and interesting," Virgil said sweetly. "And he happens to be really cute. We met because of ancient poetry. That's a really romantic date, even if he didn't intend it like that. That's a pretty high bar to me," Virgil shrugged. Roman's got some serious cognitive dissonance going on if he doesn't realize he's also a giant nerd.

"What are you guys talking about?" Patton said, rubbing their eyes and looking up at Virgil.

"Virge has a little crush on your roommate," Roman said, climbing back up to join them after locking on the door. Virgil was a little annoyed that right now seemed to be the time that Roman would start to pick up on the finer aspects of understanding his emotions, but proud of his progress none the less. The fact that Roman could pick out affectionate that separate from towards him or Patton was surprising. He's either got Virgil completely clocked, or he's some kind of savant. Probably the former, sadly.

"Me, too," They admitted sleepily. "Logan's good at _acting_ disaffected, but he really listens and is always happy to help with anything. He's sweet in his own way," Patton explained and yawned widely behind their hand.

"See, they get it," Virgil smirked and kissed Patton's hair. Patton tittered slightly and blinked, slowly turning back to the laptop screen.

"I get it, I'm _outvoted_, he's cute," Roman grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against Virgil, pouting.

"That's not how it works, Princey," Virgil said with a chuckle. "It's fine if you don't see it. But I've seen you looking at his strong jawline and butt before,"

"My eyes wander sometimes, so sue me. That nerd really keeps it tight somehow," Roman huffed and unpaused the movie.

"We're not accusing you of anything, Ro, come back and cuddle Patton to sleep," Virgil said softly and held open his arm for Roman to lean back on his chest and a bit of Patton's lap. He grumbled for a moment more but softened back up quickly. He was probably just grumpy because he was tired from him practicing his audition pieces earlier. He was opting to audition for 3 roles and was practicing 3 times the material before the auditions. The grumpy feeling faded away quickly, and the warmth between the two returned while they watched the movie. Patton fell asleep during the credits sequence of the movie, possibly determined to watch the wedding at the end.

'They're asleep, but let's sit still until it's a little longer so we don't wake them,' Virgil thought to Roman, sitting very still and holding Patton.

'That's fine with me. I'm enjoying no-shield time,' Roman thought back and sighed in satisfaction.

They sat in comfortable silence, sometimes mentally chatting about something they thought of, for about a half-hour until Patton looked to be deep enough asleep for them to shift. Roman crawled off slowly first and Virgil waited a moment before tucking Patton into the satin sheets and under the weighed blanket. Virgil and Roman shifted down to his desk where they plugged in a headphone splitter and watched another movie, The old version of The Adventures of Robin Hood, which they had mentally argued a little about earlier. Virgil had helped Patton finish any homework they had before biting them, and tomorrow the plan was just to let Patton sleep it out as much as possible. Lots of sleep seemed to make it relatively manageable for Roman other than all the pain.

Roman got up to go to bed around 1 AM after Robin hood was over and kissed Virgil's hair as he got up.

'Goodnight, Virge. I'll need to practice my audition material tomorrow so I'll be out for a bit,' Roman's hand lingered on Virgil's shoulder before crossing the room.

'Night, Ro. Let me know if you can't get a practice room and I'll find you somewhere else to practice. I'm staying unshielded for Pat tomorrow so try not to have a panic attack or something,' Virgil thought back.

'Sure, dork, it's just private practice. It'll be no sweat. Enjoy babysitting Pat,' Roman thought and climbed into his loft to sleep. Virgil shielded to not wake them and let out a deep sigh. Maybe Virgil feels so wrong about Brooding them because it's been so long. By all accounts, they were excited, interested, and Virgil appreciated the added benefits of Pat being safer and being able to spend more time with D. He really needed to learn how to let things go. Having multiple Brood in one place made it pretty obvious there was a vampire here, which was Virgil wasn't a fan of. Maybe he needed to mark this campus as his clan's territory to be safer, but then there may be territory disputes in the future if he did. And having enough venom would require live feeding. All this vampire shit is too complicated. Virgil pulled out his sketchbook to finish his art homework and leaned back to sketch the 'Emo Nightmare' desk placard in front of him.

—

At 8 AM the next morning, there was a knock on the door. It shook Virgil from his novel and he was confused for a moment, but he listened intently to make sure it didn't wake anybody up. Roman groaned, but Patton didn't move yet. Virgil got up to answer it. It smelled like Logan again. Virgil opened the door and stepped out into the hall to not wake the others.

"What can I owe the early call, Logan?" Virgil asked quietly, not wanting to bother the people in his dorm or the one next door.

"Patton is not in our dorm room. I was concerned about their whereabouts. I had hoped they were still here and forgot to text me," Logan explained the reason for his visit faster than he normally spoke. It wasn't quite fast enough to be a ramble, but Logan possibly was getting there. Virgil felt bad for spooking him without meaning to.

"Pat's not feeling great. When they fell asleep, we didn't have the heart to wake them. I'm not busy today, so I'll take care of them. They probably forgot to text you, Pat was pretty out of it partway through the movie. They mumbled something about a bad chicken wrap," Virgil explained. They really were supposed to text Logan, the poor thing. The chicken wrap was just a reasonable excuse for feeling sick for a day.

"Yes, oftentimes the chicken is not stored at the proper temperature in wraps," Logan nodded, though the concern was evident on his face. "I understand. Thank you for helping. Do you require any assistance?" Logan asked and messed with the hem of his shirt nervously.

"No, they're sleeping deeply right now. I'm just reading. I'll text you if something comes up, thank you for offering," Virgil smiled. "And thanks for keeping an eye out for Pat. I worry about them all the time and it's nice that you are paying attention, too," Logan flushed ever so slightly and nodded.

"I will be returning to my studies, then. Perhaps I will see you later," Logan stated and turned around to return to his dorm. It's so cute how much of a softie he is under his somewhat stoic exterior. Roman said something like that about Virgil. Perhaps they're peas in a very odd pod in their own way. But Logan's zest for life and learning is what Virgil really loved, and Virgil wouldn't exactly call himself zesty. Bitchy and mean, probably.

Roman's alarm, set very quietly, went off an hour later. He got up with a big yawn and headed to the bathroom.

'I'm glad they're still asleep,' Roman thought as he went into the bathroom. 'I'm a little jealous you get to sit around and watch movies with Pat between naps if theirs is anything like mine,' Roman added.

'I'm sure you'll have a great time practicing though, and you can join us one you're ready. You had multiple movie sessions,' Virgil thought back.

'That would be cool. Maybe we can watch a recording of Arcadia later so it's fresh on our minds,' Roman thought as he came out of the bathroom and went to his dresser to get clothes.

'Yeah, I've never seen the stage adaption, just read the book. It'd be nice to have some more visual context. I'll look for a professional recording and we can figure out a time later,' Virgil replied mentally.

'Cool. I'm going to change and head of for breakfast. You got any cash so I can go to the cafe? A smoothie can really help loosen up the throat,' Roman thought. Virgil pulled his wallet out of his bag and handed Roman 40 bucks. 'I'm not buying 4 bananas, dude,' Roman laughed mentally and looked oddly at Virgil.

'It's if you want tea for an assuredly impending sore throat, or a lunch that's actually edible, doofus, it's only 40 bucks,' Virgil thought, shrugging.

'Oh, to be as rich as you,' Roman mentally responded bitterly and rolled his eyes, heading back into the bathroom to change.

'You're in my clan Princey, you can be as rich as me. I'm serious. If you need anything, ask. It's too much paperwork to get you your own credit card, but if you want anything, I can probably find a way to get it to you. Except for houses. The paperwork is nearly impossible,' Virgil thought, turning back to his laptop. Roman popped out of the bathroom right away and spun Virgil's chair towards himself.

'You're shitting me. You never mentioned that!' Roman thought, staring at Virgil with wide eyes and holding Virgil's shoulder.

'I didn't think it needed saying, I already was throwing money at you,' Virgil rolled his eyes. 'You're so weird about money, get over it,' Virgil stared Roman down.

'Well, you better tell Pat they're now millionaire-proxies because I don't want to have that conversation,' Roman thought with a raised eyebrow and a sour expression. Virgil sighed as Roman stormed back into the bathroom.

'Sure, fine, you want more walking around money than 40 bucks? Because I can open the safe and make it an even $200. That's what I usually keep in cash on me,' Virgil turned back and leaned on his desk. Virgil also wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Roman and Pat were kind of weird about charity. Logan just accepted it and moved on. Some kind of capitalist brainwashing or something to think they don't deserve free money with no strings attached. Roman exited the bathroom and grabbed a messenger bag.

'Maybe later,' Roman thought. 'I'm leaving, keep me posted,' Roman thought. Virgil nodded, and Roman was out the door. Virgil resumed working on his Spanish homework in silence. Roman seemed less pissy after coming out of the bathroom. Hopefully, this doesn't have to be a whole giant thing.

Around 11 AM, Virgil ordered some light soup, a smoothie, and some vegan rice pudding for Patton. He figured they'd like something sweet like they always did. They had been sleeping for over 12 hours and would likely wake up soon. Virgil tapped gently at his keyboard, working on some English homework while he waited for the delivery. But in a few minutes, Patton was already stirring. Virgil got up and went to stand halfway up the ladder to look Patton in the face.

"Hey there, darling, how are you doing?" Virgil said softly and brushed Patton's hair out of their face.

"Awful," Patton groaned creakily. "It's too bright and too loud and I think I might throw up," Patton rubbed their face slowly.

"I'll get you some earplugs and cover the window better, okay? Would you like help to the bathroom?" Virgil asked softly.

"Yes, please," Patton moaned despondently. Virgil very gently slid his arms under Patton's back and legs to lift them out of bed. He moved slowly to make sure Patton wouldn't get too dizzy. Virgil took them to the bathroom and let them slowly slide out of his arms to stand.

"Do you need any help?" Virgil asked. Patton flushed and shook his head ever so slightly, so Virgil nodded and closed the door to give Patton some privacy. Though the retching sound that came about 5 minutes later sort of ended that. Virgil grabbed one of the cold water bottles from Roman's fridge and re-entered the bathroom after a quick knock to see Patton sitting on the floor, panting over the toilet.

"Here's some cold water, and I can get you a fresh toothbrush to use. Do you think you're done?" Virgil asked gently, squatting down to look Patton in the eye.

"Yeah," Patton said, their voice strained from a raw throat. Virgil got a cloth from under the sink and wet it with warm water and a little soap to wipe off their mouth. Pat sat still as Virgil wiped them off, then shifted off the toilet to lean against the wall. "Let me sit here a minute," Patton groaned and closed their eyes as they leaned against the wall, their knuckles pale and slightly crunching the cold water bottle in their grip. They sat there for a few minutes while their breathing evened out.

"Help me up so I can brush my teeth, please," Patton asked meekly. Virgil pulled a new toothbrush and some mouthwash out from under the sink and stepped over to Patton. Patton wrapped their arms around Virgil's neck, and he slowly lifted them to their feet.

Patton washed their hands at the sink first and then brushed lethargically. Virgil kept a hand on their back to keep them steady while they worked, which was a good call as Patton nearly fell back when gargling the mouthwash.

"Thanks," Patton said meekly, with a little half-smile.

"Let's get you back up to bed with a sports drink, yeah? You've got some food coming later," Virgil said and lifted Patton back up and back into Virgil's loft, pulling the weighted blanket down to their feet so they wouldn't get too hot. Virgil got the new food tray off the top of Roman's fridge and put Patton's abandoned water bottle and a cool sports drink from the fridge on the tray and placed it near Patton's head and they laid there weakly.

"How did Roman describe what it felt like?" Patton asked with a small cough, looking very dizzy.

"Like getting hit by a bus," Virgil said and stroked Patton's hair, feeling incredibly terrible for them.

"I think that's about right. But I think there's more spinning involved," Patton said and squeezed their eyes shut. "I wish the room would stop spinning,"

"Would you like to go back to sleep until the food gets here, Patton?" Virgil asked, feeling guilty about making Patton so sick. They looked absolutely pitiful.

"More than anything," Patton moaned despairingly, furrowing their eyebrows.

"Sleep until I snap," Virgil compelled Patton. He barely felt bad doing it. Patton was clearly suffering and that was something Virgil could help with. Patton let out a sigh and fell back to sleep, the tension melting from them quickly. Virgil adjusted the blankets and took the tray back away to give Patton space to rest. Virgil pushed Patton's hair off their forehead and frowned. At least they didn't look so dismally ill in their sleep.

'Patton woke up and threw up. I just compelled them back asleep while the food's coming,' Virgil thought to Roman, giving him an update.

'Yuck. That sucks,' Roman thought back. 'Probably a good call,' Virgil hoped it was.

Virgil went to go clean the toilet thoroughly rinse the rag to hang dry before putting it with the laundry, then went back to his English homework. He groaned in frustration, wishing that some English class out there would just switch up the curriculum with some new books for once in his endless life.


	21. Way Back When

Patton managed to keep his food down after eating extremely slowly, which was a success in Virgil's book. They were doing alright, if you considered going in and of consciousness up on the loft alright. Virgil kept a close eye and ear on them, but it mostly was a while of switching between snoring and labored breathing until Patton's fever got worse. Virgil had joined them on his loft to hold his hand to Patton's forehead as the fever spiked. Patton was still sweating profusely despite Virgil's chilly hand, though.

"It's still too hot, V," Patton groaned. Virgil reached over with his other hand for the cold water bottle he brought with him. Patton's loose pajama top covered lots of skin and had gotten sweaty.

"Let me give you a cooler and drier shirt to change into," Virgil said and handed Patton the cold water bottle. "Use this for a moment," Virgil said and climbed down, digging through his dresser for black tank tops and tossed one up to Patton. "Tell me when I can turn around and come back up," Virgil faced Roman's bed and listened to Patton struggle with their shirt for a moment until it came whooshing down to the floor next to him. Virgil shed his hoodie and T-shirt to the desk and put on a black tank top himself while Patton changed.

"You can turn around," Patton croaked, sounding strained. Virgil quickly ascended the ladder to the loft bed. Patton was leaned against the wall and breathing hard from the effort of the shirt swap. Virgil sat on the loft against the wall, picking up Patton and laying Patton against his chest to get the most contact. Virgil put his hand on Patton's forehead again. "Oh, thank god," Patton moaned in relief and relaxed into his chest, their arms flopped to either side of them both. Patton's strained breathing evened out, and they seemed to fall asleep again, or at least were more relaxed. Patton's heart rate was too erratic right now to judge and Virgil didn't want to wake them accidentally by asking.

'I'm headed back now, I need a break. If I keep practicing I'm going to strain my throat,' Roman thought to Virgil. 'Is Pat up?'

'I think they just fell back asleep,' Virgil thought to him. 'They weren't awake very long. Just some slow eating and then drifting uncomfortably until the fever got worse. It's been pretty quiet most of the afternoon, they're too dizzy to do anything,'

'God, I really thought I was melting,' Roman thought bitterly. 'My memory of that day is hazy, but I think Pat beat me by like a few hours or something in getting the heat spike,'

'Yeah, theirs seems to be worse than yours, but also going faster,' Virgil thought. 'They're really pitiful, Ro, it hurts to watch,' Virgil frowned and looked at Patton. He was pretty certain they were asleep now.

'I think I'm less jealous about you lazing about all day with Pat,' Roman thought with a little humor.

'I think you were just so excited about superpowers you forgot how bad it was,' Virgil thought a little humorously.

'You know, I learned in biology that people forget the pain of childbirth as some kind of evolutionary thing, I wonder if it's like that?' Roman mused.

'I think they framed that in the capacity of having multiple kids. The only way you'd go through a painful change again is if I turned… Oh,' Virgil cut off his own train of thought with the realization.

'Well, maybe that's it? You keep a Brood for food and then you turn them?' Roman asked, sounding intrigued.

'Hecate, that kind of makes sense,' Virgil thought, surprised he hadn't connected the dots in recent memory.

'Huh, maybe we just had a breakthrough in vampire biology. College works!' Roman joked. It was so unexpected that Virgil nearly laughed out loud instead of mentally.

'Geez, Ro, I nearly woke Pat,' Virgil mentally admonished, but was just met with Roman's mental laughter.

'I mean, obviously, the Alpha would get attached to the Brood since it's a two-way bond. If it were purely for food and not just companionship, it would be a one-way bond, right?' Roman mentally thought.

'I really never thought about it like that. That gives me some serious existential dread. Or blessed that whatever created me created a way to not be lonely for eternity. I can't pick. I'm pretty conflicted about it. That would be up to you and Pat, though,' Virgil thought despairingly.

'So you _would_ make more vampires?' Roman thought inquisitively.

'It's about consent, Ro, D asked me to be turned even if the circumstances of me turning him weren't extenuating. I'm not _that_ stubborn,' Virgil thought.

'Almost home. You _are_ stubborn, especially about consent, so I say both. People shouldn't have to consent a ton of times for the same thing like you made Pat do,' Roman mentally admonished him.

'It's not _reversible_, I needed to know Pat was sure,' Virgil reminded Roman.

'Deceit knew Pat was sure the day he met them,' Roman thought with a lilt. 'Don't get me wrong, I think consent is important, but you're stubborn as hell,' Roman thought critically.

'Fine. I'm scared, and it makes me pester my friends incessantly, and I need to work on that. Are you happy?' Virgil admitted petulantly.

'_Immensely_,' Roman thought, and Virgil heard him come down the hall. The door unlocked a few moments later.

'Welcome back,' Virgil thought.

'Oh, my god, I'm so retroactively jealous. I wish I could have done that!' Roman thought sourly. 'I'm _glad_ you're pinned under them,'

'Jealousy much? I wasn't trying to out myself until I knew it was safe. I mean, I know you're an idiot, but somebody colder than a corpse is pretty sus. They'll probably wake up when I warm up from their heat, anyway. Would you get a cold wet washcloth for me? I'm worried my hand is starting to get warm,'

'You're an unrepentant bastard and I resent that. I'll get you a rag, but for Pat, not for you,' Roman thought, putting down his bag over at his desk and headed into the bathroom for a cool washcloth. 'Thanks for cleaning the toilet,' Roman added much more lightly.

'It's my fault they're sick,' Virgil thought.

'Oh my god, you are a hopeless case,' Roman sighed and Virgil watched him come out of the bathroom holding a damp rag. 'Here's Pat's rag. I'm going to send you Emile's number to talk about your wildly out-of-control guilt complex,' Roman walked over and passed up the rag. Virgil gingerly folded it up and placed it on Patton's head that was leaned back on Virgil's chest. Virgil heard a buzz on his desk. Virgil raised his eyebrow at Roman, but he just shrugged. Roman slid off his white denim jacket to the back of his chair and went over to the recording equipment. He dug out the camera and a lavalier microphone and smiled mischievously. He turned both on and walked to the middle of the room. Roman pointed the camera straight at Virgil and Patton and pressed record.

"Here we have a wild goth who abandoned his loner ways for a pastel angel with a heart of gold. He has marked the angel as his territory with a black top, but do not be fooled. That is not the early coat of a baby goth, but an angel in black," Roman whispered into a microphone. Virgil scowled at him. 'The goth has noticed our presence, but will not move lest he wakes the pastel angel who captivated his heart,"

'Roman, I swear to Hecate,' Virgil angrily thought to him and scowled.

"The goth has become enraged at our proximity but is rendered impotent by the angel. What a _truly amazing_ discovery for science," Roman finished and turned off the camera, grinning up widely at Virgil. Roman laughed loudly at Virgil mentally and covered his mouth to keep any laughter from bursting out. Virgil just continued to glower at him crossly.

'Patton will think it's funny, lighten up!' Roman thought and rolled his eyes. Virgil softened quickly. If the recording was just to make Patton laugh when he woke up, that would be fine. Patton probably needed a laugh. And it was kind of funny. Virgil probably could star a nature documentary.

'They probably would,' Virgil thought. 'So how's talking with Emile going?'

'He's really weird and excitable, but he's fun to talk to. We were chatting about Avatar yesterday. We tried to give everybody elements, and he thinks you're a fire bender, but I think you're a water bender,' Roman thought.

'It this another cartoon I need to watch?' Virgil asked mentally. Patton shifted uncomfortably.

'Absolutely. Maybe when Pat wakes up, we can watch a few episodes,' Roman thought. Patton's heart rate stared increasing suddenly.

"Pat? Pat, what's wrong?" Virgil asked quickly, trying to tap them on the shoulder and tentatively shook them. "Pat, wake up," Virgil said, panicking.

"Shit, what's happening?" Roman asked and started up the ladder. Patton's face cinched tight, but they didn't respond, possibly in too much pain.

"Pat's heart rate suddenly spiked!" Virgil whispered loudly. Roman took Patton's hand, looked scared.

'Darling?' Deceit asked Virgil.

'Hold on,' Virgil thought quickly back to Deceit.

"Pat? Patton, can you talk to us?" Roman said, now sharing in Virgil's panic. Patton convulsed briefly in Virgil's arms, Virgil held them loosely but made sure they didn't fall over. After a thick, leaden moment of dread, Patton's eyes shot open, and they gasped for air. Roman Reached for the water bottle to hand to them while Virgil hugged him in panic.

"Pat, please, are you okay?" Virgil asked desperately. Patton kept gasping but nodded.

"What happened?" Roman asked, holding their hands compassionately.

"Pain," Patton croaked and reached for the bottle. A sharp feeling pinched in Virgil's chest and flopped into tired relief as Patton chugged the bottle. Roman's eyes widened and Patton clutched their chest. "Is… is that you?" Patton stammered and looked down to their chest, up to Virgil and then Roman.  
"Yeah, Pat, that's us," Virgil said and let out a deep sigh of relief. Roman let out a laugh that half sounded like a sob and hugged Patton. Wow, Pat had a lot going on inside.

'It's okay, D, Patton just scared me for a second. They're already linked,' Virgil thought to Deceit.

'That was fast,' Deceit mused. Patton smiled but looked incredibly tired.

"You want to come up, Ro?" Virgil asked. "Pat and I could use some cuddles, I think," Roman nodded, and Virgil held up Patton for a moment while Roman passed, and Virgil scooted down to the edge of the bed and laid Patton down on his lap. Roman helped finish shifting Patton and laid behind them. The trio all sighed as they settled down.

"That was really fast, Pat. Roman and I linked around 9 PM," Virgil said and placed his hand on Roman's side as Roman snuggled with Patton. "It's only just turned 5,"

"Well, you bit them earlier," Roman said quietly. Virgil calculated it up in his head.

"You were about 20 hours till fully linked and Pat was 17. I guess the time just felt longer because I was agonizing over accidentally biting you," Virgil said sourly.

"Yes, and thanks for keeping that to a minimum today," Roman said with a chuckle.

"You should feel better after you sleep it off, Patton. Do you want to stay here with us again? You can borrow a change of clothes from me," Virgil offered.

"Oh, I'd _pay_ to see goth Patton," Roman commented snarkily.

"Yeah, I want to stay here. Can I change later, though?" Patton said with a slightly raspy voice. "I don't think I could move if I tried,"

"Of course, Pat, if you want to take another nap, we won't judge you. I could go get the laptop and we could put on something to space out to,"

"Only if Roman stays," Patton agreed with a weak chuckle. Roman laughed and tenderly hugged Patton. Virgil slid his hand under their heads and slipped a pillow there while he headed down for his laptop and his phone.

'Pat's going to stay here one more night. They're still not feeling well. We're going to put something on the laptop and order dinner if you want to come chat.' Virgil texted to Logan.

"Is there anything you want for dinner, Ro?" Virgil asked.

"Chips, hero sandwich, and small tomato soup," Roman sounded off.

'Yes, I would like that. I will complete this work in about 30 minutes. I would like a turkey sandwich and a cup of vegetable minestrone.' Logan sent back.

"How about you, sunlight?" Virgil asked. "Anything sounding great or do you want something similar to earlier?"

"Protein. Another rice pudding." Patton said quietly.

"How about some grilled chicken breast?" Virgil suggested, tapping around on his delivery app.

"That sounds okay," Patton agreed softly.

"I'll get you some boiled vegetables as a side," Virgil said and finished ordering. He was able to find all of those things at a local deli instead of having to order from multiple restaurants, which meant no staggered delivery. Virgil went to get Patton another water before climbing back up with the laptop. Virgil lifted the pillow onto his lap and Roman yanked the satin top sheet partially over them, bunching up some blanket to lift his head over Patton's to see the screen.

"Logan's going to come in 30 minutes to join us for dinner," Virgil said as he held the laptop. "It'll be here in about 40. Did you want a movie or a TV show, Patton?"

"I want to watch Winnie the Pooh," Patton said quietly.

"Adorable choice," Virgil nodded and loaded it up.

"Thanks for inviting Lo-Lo," Patton muttered. Virgil placed the laptop in front of them and started the movie.

"I could feel you miss him," Virgil said. "I think he missed you, too. He came at 8 AM to check on you,"

"I just felt a vague something-something," Roman said. "How do you tell so specifically?" Virgil shrugged.

"Practice? Deceit's pretty mercurial. Plus, you only just connected with Pat. Their feelings will feel different from mine," Virgil explained and rested his hand on Roman's shoulder. "We can try a practice after Patton's better," Virgil said softly. Roman nodded and shifted to watch the laptop. They all laid there in silence, enjoying each other's company, and bouncing cartoon stuffed animals.

"Is Deceit coming back sometime soon?" Patton asked quietly after a little while.

"We… we'll see. Maybe we can go hang out at his estate sometime," Virgil said.

"His estate?" Patton asked, shifting slightly to look up at Virgil but appearing to give up and return to the movie.

"He's a very rich lawyer in his day job," Virgil said. "It's a town over, but I can drive us out,"

"Oh, what's your rich boy car?" Roman asked with interest and a little challenge.

"Modified 1979 Pontiac Firebird," Virgil said fondly.

"Is that even a rich boy car? Drive something fancier, Virgil," Roman groaned in disappointment.

"She's special and you'll understand when you ride in her," Virgil said proudly.

"It's so old, though," Roman moaned. Virgil just laughed at that.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Virgil said sarcastically.

"Ew," Patton groaned. "My stomach still hurts, guys,"

"Sorry, Pat," Virgil apologized softly.

"I don't know if you can tell," Virgil said jokingly. "But I was very into the punk movement in the 70s, it's my relic of then I can get in and drive around,"

"_You're_ the relic, you don't need a car for that," Roman grinned and Virgil laughed. "No, I would never have guessed you listened to anything that wasn't Panic! at the Disco," Roman added sarcastically.

"I didn't know about the emo subculture until you called me that, Princey. I just enjoyed the music while praying for death at my desk job." Virgil replied.

"Wow, you missed most of the 2000s?" Roman asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I didn't get much from the 90s and 2000s culture. I didn't care much for cartoons, for one. Other than the 2000s internet flash animations, anyway," Virgil shrugged. "I watched that damn kitty cat dance video so many times. I've actually composed a violin version,"

"That's so freakin' extra. You're a dork," Roman laughed.

"You _have_ to watch Invader Zim," Patton suggested and was cut off by a small yawn. "It's important to 2000s emo lore,"

"I'll watch anything you both tell me to watch, I have 8 hours a day to kill that you don't," Virgil shrugged and adjusted Patton slightly, who was slipping down.

"I'd miss sleeping," Patton said. "I like being able to dream,"

"I think I'd just go stir crazy without sleeping to break up the days," Roman said. Virgil just hummed in agreement.

"Do you sleep at all, Virgil? Or were you just pretending those few times I saw you in bed?" Roman asked and carefully looked up to Virgil.

"Only if I need to heal. I've never had dreams, though. The only vampires that can still sleep and dream normally are omegas, I think. So, like if Deceit turned somebody," Virgil explained.

"So sometimes you just lay there and listen to music for a few hours? Doesn't that get boring?" Roman asked, sounding confused and disbelieving.

"I was alive in the 1600s, that was boring. At one point I ran a shop of all the things I knit and sewed in my endless, boring downtime. I can take laying with one of you listening to music for 8 hours. That's not a big deal," Virgil said a little sourly.

"Dibs," Patton and Roman said at the same time, and they all chuckled.

"Okay, I'll see if I can send a shopper to a department store to get us that air mattress tonight," Virgil said, rolling his eyes affectionately. "I'll need to measure the space though, which means I have to get back up," Patton made a whining sound but giggled softly afterward, so it seemed safe to go. Virgil slid back out from under the pillow and let them lay normally.

Virgil was digging through his art toolbox for a measuring tape when he heard Logan come to the door. He went over to let him in.

"Hey, Logan, come on in. The food should be here soon. Pick a chair," Virgil offered and stepped out of the way for Logan.

"Are you measuring something? Could I be of service?" Logan asked when he looked down and saw the tape measure in Virgil's hand.

"Yeah, the distance between the bunks. I'd appreciate it if you'd hold the measure on the lofts support," Virgil asked and handed him the edge of the tape. Logan went to go stand at Virgil's loft.

"Hi, Lo," Patton croaked.

"Hello, Patton. I am sorry to see you are still not faring well," Logan said softly.

"I'm feeling a little better, I'm just very exhausted," Patton replied quietly.

"Got the measurement, thanks, Logan," Virgil said and went to go look for a model that fit that area with some pillows and sheets for it online. Preferably with a padded top and sturdy.

"It is always a pleasure to help measure things," Logan said and pulled out Virgil's chair to sit on it where he could see Patton on the top bunk. "Are you in need of anything, Patton?" He asked up to them.

"No, I'm okay," They said with a little yawn.

"The app says the driver is almost here, I'm going to head downstairs," Virgil informed them. Logan nodded and looked back to Patton with concern. "Don't light anything on fire without me," He said in a deadpan, and Roman tittered.

"Why would we light anything on _fire_?" Virgil heard Logan say in bafflement as he walked out into the hall and head down the stairs. He didn't have to wait very long in the lobby for the delivery driver to appear with his food.

"Thank you so much," Virgil said and handed him a large tip.

"Thanks!" The Delivery person said enthusiastically and ran back out quickly, probably for other deliveries. Virgil walked back upstairs to his dorm and hungry friends. Virgil entered the dorm with a big smile.

"Food's here! I'll put it on the tray for you, Pat. Ro, you'll have to come down to the desk so you don't crumb up the sheets for Pat," Virgil said and walked the food over to the desk, unloading it by order. Roman groaned loudly.

"I can be careful," Roman sounded annoyed at the implication he was a messy eater.

"The nature of chips and subs is crumbs, Ro, you can go back when you're done," Virgil said firmly. Roman dramatically huffed and crawled down. Virgil rolled his eyes and passed behind Logan to get the tray and a lemon-lime sports drink for Patton.

"Oh, give me the blue one," Roman said and held open his hands. Virgil tossed it over Logan and Roman caught it.

"What flavour is blue, exactly?" Logan asked curiously. Virgil shrugged.

"That's for the philosophers to ponder, I think. It seems to be contended information. Do you want water or a sports drink?" Virgil asked.

"Water would be my preference," Logan said calmly. Virgil pulled him out a bottle and placed it on the desk. Virgil gathered Pat's dinner and passed the tray up and then climbed up to help Patton sit up enough to eat. Patton leaned weakly against his shoulder as they started to eat small bites. Virgil watched them for a bit to make sure things were settling okay before glancing around. No sick Pat face. Virgil looked down to see Roman enthusiastically enjoy his monster sandwich and Logan eating more daintily. He sliced off pieces of the turkey and spinach sandwich instead of picking it up to eat. Very prim and proper. Not at all surprising from a guy who wore business casual as daily fashion.

"Is there something you need, Virgil? Logan asked when he noticed Virgil staring.

"I'm just enjoying the compare and contrast," Virgil said with a small chuckle. Logan looked over to Roman and nodded in understanding.

"Am I missing something?" Roman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Manners," Virgil quipped back.

"Hey, you can't cut up a hero sub, it would just fall apart!" Roman objected with an offended noise.

"You're also slouching and have one of your feet up on the wall," Logan supplied. Virgil chuckled again at that.

"It's fine, Princey, I like how you eat, too," Virgil said sweetly, but Roman huffed anyway.

"If you could eat, I bet you'd do it pinky out," Roman grumbled. That wasn't an ideal way to word that. Virgil paused for any reaction from Logan, but there didn't appear to be anyway.

"I'll eat pinky out next time, just for you," Virgil said and turned his head to look back at Patton. Patton was eating slower. "How about I hold your tray closer to you, sunlight, so it's less work?" He asked softly. Patton nodded and Virgil held up the tray at an easier angle for Patton.

"You are very maternal, Virgil," Logan commented and watched Virgil hold the tray steady for Patton.

"I can be," Virgil said dismissively. "If there's a problem I can easily help with, why ignore it?" He can also be a feral murderous bastard, so he didn't take the implications he was caring too seriously.

"That is a good way to approach things," Logan said, almost sounding complimentary.

"Virgil can be chaotic about it though, he's half-gremlin half mother-hen," Roman chuckled.

"That's some terrifying imagery," Virgil groaned. "What kind of noise would that be?" Virgil growled and tried to morph it into a cluck.

"No more growling, please," Patton said and gently pat his legs.

"Are you done, Pat? Want me to clear it up?" Virgil asked.

"I'm done but no moving," Patton grumbled.

"I will gather the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator," Logan said and stood up. Virgil pulled the sports drink and water bottle off the tray before Logan removed it.

"Thanks, Lo," Patton said with a yawn.

"Your growling is really unsettling, dude. I got a shiver down my spine," Roman looked like he was still shaking it off. "I think the addition of clucking gave me mental whiplash,"

"We aim to please," Virgil chuckled and pulled Patton into his lap to hold them in his arms. Patton slowly reached back and hugged him.

"With the amount I have seen Patton or Roman cling to you, I must hypothesize that you are comfortable to lean upon," Logan said after sliding the container with Patton's leftovers in the fridge and returned to finish his dinner.

"He is," Patton cooed weakly. Virgil shook his head more out of bemusement than disagreement.

"Pat could cuddle an armadillo and say it's nice," Virgil accused Patton with a smirk.

"They are really cute, I would hug one if they weren't dangerous," Patton said softly. Roman folded the wrapping back around the other half of his sub and got up to slide it in the fridge. He then climbed up and sat on the other side of Virgil and Patton and pulled the laptop into his lap.

"Patton, can I change it to Avatar? Virge has never seen it and I thought it would be fun to watch together," Roman said. Patton smiled and nodded.

"I love Aang. Do you want to come up and join us, Lo? There's just enough room if I stay in Virgil's lap," Patton offered.

"Isn't that a cartoon?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you were to watch any one cartoon series in your life, you wouldn't make a bad choice with Avatar, Logan. It's extremely complex. There's war and political intrigue and betrayal and learning to overcome your limitations, it's amazing," Roman tried to hard-sell Logan.

"That does sound interesting. I did agree to try sometime," Logan said and nodded his head. Roman and Virgil scooted over on the mattress to make room for Logan. There was just enough room for him to fit without hitting the frame. Patton turned and smiled brightly at him and Roman put down the laptop on in the middle and started the show.


	22. Perspective

Patton's alarm went off next to their head on the air mattress and they sat up from their half of Virgil's chest, their pillow jammed under his arm still holding their head shape. Roman was still on his other side and just groaned and waved in the air like he was getting rid of a fly for some reason. Patton kissed Virgil's forehead with a light titter and waved as they gathered their phone and pajamas from yesterday and headed out the door to their dorm to get ready for work.

Virgil wasn't sure how much Patton needed monthly, but Virgil was thinking about having his friends get fake contractor jobs from Deceit to cover their expenses now that they were in their clan so Patton could focus more on studying and Roman wouldn't have to rely on his bigoted-sounding parents. He hadn't had the talk with Patton yet, either, so he'd have to get that out of the way before any of Deceit's shell-corps starting making direct deposits or anything.

Roman didn't wake up from that exchange other than sleep-flailing and was still breathing quietly on the other half of his chest. Roman had his hand across Virgil's torso and his head was on a pillow under Virgil's arm. He had shifted down overnight off of the crook of Virgil's arm and chest. Roman's morning hair was absolutely adorable, and Virgil fought the urge to ruffle it to make it even wilder. There was something very attractive about the idea of Roman's hair being a mess since he normally kept it so pristinely in place.

Now that Patton was off, he had a free hand, so he reached for his phone sitting on the air mattress above his head. Virgil sent Remy a string of emojis that made a vague story with no context. He had gotten into the habit to see if he could find where Remy's limit was with wildly meaningless strings of emojis. But he had gotten back nothing but another string of emojis every time, never any objections or even asking for clarification. Virgil assumed they were some kind of puzzle thing to him. Some vampires were really into cryptography.

Virgil was confident with enough practice he'd be able to understand the emoji strings without a guide. It seemed like Remy was also sending stories back and Virgil enjoyed trying to crack the code. The stories were definitely weird, but they made sense for Remy to tell, so Virgil thought his interpretations must be at least partially correct. Some emojis had multiple or naturally ambiguous meanings, and others communicated a feeling instead of a specific word or idea. Either way, it pissed him off, and he was determined to figure it out or beat the answer out of him if he couldn't. Virgil realized he might also be one of those vampires that were really into cryptography and the humor wasn't lost on him.

Virgil was passing time watching guitar technique videos when Roman's weekend 9am alarm went off. Roman's arm rose from Virgil's side slightly and smacked around wildly for his phone until he found it and turned it off. Roman yawned widely and ran his hand through his hair.

"Good morning, Roman," Virgil said, laughing at Roman's cute expression as he rubbed his face and looked around in confusion, holding himself up on his elbow. "Air mattress, remember?" Virgil supplied.

"Oh, right. I forgot we moved down here," Roman said with a light yawn. "Morning," Roman said and gave Virgil a last hug before climbing up and heading into the bathroom. Roman actually went to bed early for once with Patton, so it wasn't like he was sleep-deprived like he normally would be, so perhaps he just wasn't a morning person.

Virgil sat up and stripped the sheets to deflate the mattress with the quick release and placed it all together in a plastic storage tub in front of the closet. Virgil went over to dig through his clothes. He wasn't sure it was just a friendly outing with Logan this morning and didn't want to be under-dressed if it was a date. He also didn't want to get stared at like a thief because he wore some grungy clothes into the museum. He was feeling a little more gender-ambiguous today, so maybe something that was casually androgynous kind of dressy. Maybe he could just wear a purple tank top under one of his black button-downs. Maybe with his leather jacket instead of a hoodie? He had slacks with him, but some black fitted jeans are dressy if you wear them with the right shoe. Though, perhaps a combat boot was not it. It would probably look nice enough without being too far from his regular style. Virgil changed while Roman finished up the in the bathroom.

"Oh, no hoodie ensemble today?" Roman said with a raised eyebrow as he came out of the bathroom while Virgil was adjusting his jacket.

"I didn't want to get thrown out of the museum for being a punk kid," Virgil explained his outfit choice dismissively and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"I didn't even know that was a _thing_ that could happen," Roman said, sounding slightly surprised but mostly amused. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"They were not fond of my '_excessive cloaks_' and they kicked me out for '_possible tomfoolery_'," Virgil made the air quotes with his fingers before he pulled out his toothbrush and toothpaste. "This happened on multiple occasions," He deadpanned and started brushing. He heard Roman laugh from the dorm room.

"I'm going to go join the fold and shower today. I want to do some vocal warm-ups in the hot steam," Roman said and bustled around the dorm.

'Oh, they will _love_ that,' Virgil thought at Roman.

"Hearing my angelic voice could only enhance their day," Roman huffed and squeezed in the bathroom to grab his shower kit and a towel from under the sink.

'Break some hearts, Princey,' Virgil thought at him and Roman winked at him before heading out of the dorm room. Virgil spit and finished cleaning his teeth. He lit up his eyes to make his make-up less severe. He moved it to be more concentrated around his eyes instead of making it prominent that he just had a tired face. Virgil also straightened his hair somewhat to look a little more polished. Virgil hadn't been to this museum to know how well lit it was, so he grabbed a pair of gloves from his drawers and pocketed them with his mask. After a liberal application of sunscreen, he put on his sunglasses and went downstairs to wait for Logan.

Virgil was a little early, but Logan ended up being slightly early, too, only coming down 3 minutes after Virgil sat in one of the lobby chairs away from the windows. Virgil pulled out his phone and waved at Logan as he exited the elevator.

"Good morning, Virgil," Logan said, verging on brightly.

"Morning, Logan. This is the exhibit, right? I'll get us a ride," Virgil asked, showing him the webpage on his phone. Logan nodded and Virgil input that address for the ridesharing service. "Thanks for inviting me, I haven't seen any exhibits quite like this in some time," Virgil thanked him brightly, looking forward to the museum.

"I am delighted to share this with someone with a common interest in ancient poetry," Logan said with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"I also enjoy pottery," Virgil said with a smile. "But I think trying to guess the context of the partial poetry pieces will be the real star of the day," Virgil said thoughtfully.

"I would also find that gratifying," Logan's smile actually broke out this time, and Virgil blushed slightly in surprise at how cute it was. Logan just looked quizzically at him.

"Sorry, I don't want to push any boundaries or anything, but you're really cute when you smile," Virgil said softly. Logan slightly flushed in response.

"You did not push any boundaries," Logan said, possibly reassuring Virgil or possibly changing the subject. "I will let you know if I feel uncomfortable. I am already aware that you are affectionate from watching you interact with Patton and Roman," Logan said. Virgil looked away and rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that's relatively new," Virgil mumbled. His phone dinged. "That's our ride. Shall we?" Logan nodded, and Virgil donned his outdoor traversing in the sun gear. They stepped out into the sun to head to the museum.

Once they purchased tickets, Logan led Virgil into the museum with ease towards the ancient pottery exhibit. He must have been here a few times before. Logan mentioned in the car that he was open to checking out some other exhibits as long as they had the time, but he wanted to start there. Virgil was happy to have an enthusiastic guide. The pottery was stunning, and well preserved. The textures looked so interesting that he really wished he could feel them. There were a series of intricate engravings or restored paintings that Virgil and Logan sometimes got lost in and both got a little embarrassed when another group came and they had to move along to let them see up close.

When they found the collection of ancient poetry on the pots, they spent a long while pouring over the translations provided with each piece. They easily spent nearly an hour just discussing what this phrasing meant or that combination of words could imply. Logan even casually dropped some alternate meanings of a couple of the words in ancient Greek. Which was both surprising and very amazing. Virgil would have pegged him for Latin fan over ancient Greek. Maybe he knew both?

When they realized they had been there past noon, Virgil offered to buy Logan lunch when they finished the first exhibit in a nearby cafe. They were considering heading back to check out the sculpture collection afterward if Logan had time. Virgil used to do sculptures a long time ago and wanted to check out the collection. They continued their discussion while Logan ate a plate of grilled vegetables and seasoned rice and Virgil enjoyed his black coffee.

"I have to admit, Logan, I wasn't sure you were interested in spending time with me at first or I would have invited you out with us more often," Virgil said a little sheepishly as he sipped his coffee. He leaned on his elbow on the table and watched Logan eat.

"I would not have offered to help you study programming if I was uninterested in further socialization," Logan said evenly. That was probably fair. Virgil felt like an idiot for not connecting the dots sooner.

"I can be kind of oblivious and dumb sometimes, sorry," Virgil said quietly and looked down, tapping slightly on his coffee cup.

"I haven't seen any indication that you were 'dumb' in the time that I have known you," Logan said calmly. "It is not good for your mental health to insult yourself," Logan admonished him, but there was no spite or distaste behind it. Virgil looked at him wide-eyed for a moment, feeling a little taken aback.

"I'll work on that, thanks," Virgil agreed softly and didn't meet Logan's eyes, opting to stare at his coffee instead. Virgil looked up a little nervously. Logan smiled lightly and nodded. "Can I ask you something kind of embarrassing? So I don't have to feel dumb anymore?" Virgil asked tentatively. Logan nodded and motioned with his hand for Virgil to go ahead.

"I would be happy to alleviate any concerns you have," Logan replied and sipped his water.

"I'm still not _entirely sure_ if this is a friend-outing or a date," Virgil nearly whispered he asked so quietly. Logan choked on his water for a second and Virgil panicked until he swallowed and took a deep breath. "Because it was kind of a romantic thing to ask me to join you to do, in both senses," Now, it was Logan's turn to blush, and it wasn't restrained like most of his interactions. That took Virgil by surprise for a moment, but it just made him smile to see Logan like that.

"I…" Logan started and cleared his throat. "I am not disinterested. It hadn't crossed my mind that outing could be considered a date until you asked," He said timidly. Virgil held up his hands.

"It doesn't have to be!" Virgil shot apprehensively and held up his hands. He didn't want to scare Logan off. He was interesting and calming to be around, even if they weren't romantically compatible.

"No, I am… open to discussion on the subject…" Logan said and trailed off. They were both blushing at each other like idiots at this point.

"I, uh, didn't mean to railroad you with that or anything. Do you need space or something? I can get us separate rides-" Virgil started rambling until Logan held up his hand and shook his head.

"No, I am not uncomfortable. I just had not realized what I asked could have been construed as romantic in more than one way," Logan said softly.

"Oh, well, it was. It's how we met. It's sweet," Virgil explained quietly. Logan nodded. "Um, before anything else, I need to tell you I am polyamorous and I'm already seeing somebody," Virgil explained and wrung his hands nervously. He could live if Logan didn't want to date him, but Virgil would be lying to himself if he thought it wouldn't really hurt if Logan didn't accept him. Logan nodded again, much to Virgil's relief.

"I do not think that is an issue. I am often consumed by my studies and would not mind you seeking close romantic affection elsewhere. If all parties are informed and aware of the situation I don't find that objectionable," Logan explained, his composure not fully regained. It was really cute to see him discombobulated.

"I should also warn you I have very cold hands," Virgil said with a smirk and motioned a with sarcastic jazz hands.

"I will take that into consideration," Logan said and smiled back. "I would be interested in pursuing an 'open' relationship with you. I find our conversations very stimulating and would enjoy exploring further interactions,"

"_Further interactions_ is a pretty wide field, Mr. Hewitt. Where did you intend to start?" Virgil asked with a flirty smile. He raised his eyebrow and leaned forward on his hands, looking pointedly at Logan. Logan flushed slightly and froze for a moment.

"I believe we should hold hands when we return to the exhibit," Logan spouted out, looking like his brain was perhaps running a bit too fast with ideas there for a moment.

"I like that plan," Virgil said and winked at him, which made Logan's heart rate spike a little. Virgil chuckled quietly. He was so damn cute when his brain was working quickly, be it from intense research or picking an intimate interaction.

They did, in fact, hold hands when they returned to the museum to see the sculpture collection. Virgil considered wearing gloves, but he already told Logan he has cold hands, plus Patton had mentioned it in his presence. Logan didn't react when Virgil took his hand as they headed to the wing with ancient sculptures and tools. Other than his heart rate jumping slightly, anyway. Virgil let Logan lead him through the wing, mentioning extra facts about certain items or just showing off his favourite pieces. He must love history to do further research on his favourite things in the museum. Holding hands with another guy in public name him nervous, but he could pretend that people could see it as a friendly interaction since Logan was mostly pulling him about rather than anything else, and that helped settle him.

Logan really lit up and let his heart sit on his sleeve for once, and he was excited to show Virgil the Egyptian exhibit since they had sarcophagus on loan. They had decided to stay at the museum even later, just to check out the other wings. Virgil didn't even realize that Logan might have had other things to do halfway through the wing with a collection of various kinds of art.

"Logan, I haven't been keeping you from anything, right? I know you like to keep a tight schedule," Virgil said, stopping them suddenly.

"I did not eat an afternoon snack, but otherwise I have completed my homework and am mostly on top of my studies. I can finish this wing with you," Logan said, checking his watch, pulling up Virgil's hand as he brought it up to read. Virgil smirked with amusement when he realized that Logan had forgotten he was holding Virgil's hand, he had gotten so used to his fingers intertwined with Virgil's.

"We can maybe pick you up something to eat on the way back to campus," Virgil offered, leaning in slightly towards him.

"That would be time-saving, thank you," Logan said and looked satisfied. "You seem to be relatively affluent," Logan commented. There wasn't any weight to his words, it was just a mild comment. Virgil loved that about him.

"Yes, and I enjoy spending it on my new boyfriend," Virgil said with a smirk. He brushed Logan's knuckles with his thumb, and it flustered Logan for a moment. Virgil fought the urge to be more affectionate with him as they went on to the next painting, Logan rattling off the techniques and they discussed the symbolism together on pieces that really drew them in. It was a magnificent way to spend an afternoon.

—

Virgil came into his dorm and hung his leather jacket up, humming slightly to himself an old prelude he wrote for piano. He turned around and saw Roman writing at his laptop again. He's really dedicated guy, it was impressive how much time he put into writing.

"Hey Princey, how was practicing for today?" Virgil asked as he dramatically flopped himself on the middle of the dorm room floor.

"I think it went marvelously. I will record myself next time to get a better perspective of how it sounds, though. I'd like to cover my bases," Roman offhandedly, and glanced down at Virgil on the floor. "Did you have a pleasant time at the place with the old stuff?" Roman asked sarcastically smiling at him, rotating away from his laptop to lean forward and look at Virgil on the floor.

"Great time," Virgil purred and smiled to Roman. "But you probably know that," Virgil motioned to Roman up on his chair and tapped his head.

"It's more polite to ask," Roman shrugged. "Did you just spend the entire time looking at old stuff? Because if you get that happy just looking at broken pottery, you need to get a life," Roman said critically, but he had a playful smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"The broken pottery was awesome, but no. This level of happiness was only tangentially related to the museum excursion," Virgil smiled knowingly and Roman huffed.

"You spent too much time this afternoon with him, you're starting to talk like him," Roman groaned and frowned at him.

"I've been around long enough to unironically drop some 10 dollar words. Sometimes you'll just have to humor me," Virgil stuck out his tongue slightly.

"I do _nothing_ but humor you, you weird ancient leech. So what was the cause of the_ joyous jubilee_, then?" Roman asked, leaning on one hand and watching Virgil with interest.

"Oh, nice alliteration," Virgil gold clapped. "Logan and I are dating now," Virgil said with a smile.

"_What_? That poindexter beat me to asking you out?" Roman shot, upset. "I had this whole romantic outing planned!" Virgil lifted himself up on to his elbows to look at Roman in the face.

"Oh, is my night in shining _amouré_ jealous that _Logan_ got to it first?" Virgil asked with a smirk and wiggled his eyebrow playfully at Roman.

"Yes!" Roman said emphatically. "You're not worried about him finding out?" Roman dropped his hands and looked baffled.

"It hasn't been a problem so far," Virgil said dismissively. "Plus, he straight denied it when Patton asked,"

"I thought you were more cautious than that," Roman huffed, crossing his arms in frustration.

"You see, I have the most handsome Brood and they both can be _kind of_ impulsive, and it has affected me a bit," Virgil smirked and watched Roman flush and pout. Virgil drew himself up to his feet and dropped his shield, pulling in Roman for a hug, gently stroking his hair. He clearly wasn't upset about Virgil being less cautious with Logan, who Virgil genuinely thought he could drink blood in front of him and he still wouldn't believe he was a vampire. "You don't need a **f**_ancy date_ to convince me to say yes, you know, I'm already there," Virgil said softly. Roman's heart rate rose, and he gripped Virgil back tightly.

"Maybe I _want_ to go on a fancy date with you," Roman mumbled, still pouting into Virgil's arm.

"Then let's go on a fancy date right now. If you have any burning questions at the end of the night, I'll be ready to listen. Maybe we can find some carnival and you can confess your love in the ferris wheel," Virgil chuckled when Roman punched him in the side for the joke. "Or maybe you just want to skip the _airs_ and go for the goal," Virgil said softly into Roman's ear. Roman bristled momentarily and hit Virgil on the arm, pulling away and making his deep blush evident.

"I'm _getting_ my fancy date, damnit, now go hide behind the curtain while I put on something suitable. I'll need you to change into those slacks, but you can keep the rest of the outfit. It's already acceptable if you button up more," Roman ordered and turned to Virgil's closet, throwing his pair of slacks at him. Virgil chuckled and shook his head. Extra is as extra does, and Roman was not to be challenged without a hissy fit. Virgil saluted Roman before pulling back the curtains to let Roman get dressed.


	23. Human

Virgil had made the requested outfit change that Roman asked him to and switched to slacks. He also buttoned up his shirt most of the way instead of wearing it loose over his tank top. Virgil sat idly cleaning his nails behind the curtain at his desk while Roman changed. This seemed a little ridiculous. Roman's heart rate was going wild and he was rushing around the bedroom. Roman already knew Virgil was into him.

"I can just take us to a 5-star restaurant," Virgil offered and punched the curtain lightly to get Roman's attention. "Something fancy and romantic with candles and shit,"

"I've already picked the locations and you can deal with it," Roman said haughtily and headed into the bathroom. It sounded like it was at least somewhat premeditated from the demands to change clothes, but it sounded like Roman had a very set idea of what he wanted and not something vague. How long had he been thinking about this?

"I was just _offering _to make you less stressed," Virgil supplied blithely and let him go back to his fancifying routine.

"I was planning on asking you out later today and I'm just bitter that _mega-dork_ beat me to it," Roman groaned through the bathroom door. "I don't suppose you have dress shoes?" Roman asked, making a clicking noise with his tongue.

"At Deceit's place. I didn't think I'd need them for class, to be honest," Virgil told him with a brief chuckle. Despite his long-ass life, Virgil couldn't have anticipated any of this, and even less think he'd need dress shoes to go to lectures. Roman exited the bathroom again.

"Then we'll polish your boots and hope nobody cares," Roman said. Some digging noises were followed by shoe polish flying through Virgil's curtain. Virgil rolled his eyes as his boots came flying through the curtain next. This was very extra. Where were they going that needs fancy shoes, anyway? He shined his shoes diligently while Roman went back into the bathroom. His boots were new and pretty easy to shine up to a bright polish.

Roman had reemerged from the bathroom with what felt like some newfound confidence and pulled Virgil's curtain open. Roman had changed into a red button-down with golden buttons and a classy white embroidered swirling pattern around the left shoulder with a pair of dark slacks. He had smoothed his hair down more professionally than usual and applied a little red and gold eyeshadow along with his 'natural glow' type of makeup routine.

"Wow," Virgil said in awe. "I didn't know you had a _real prince_ under all that _annoying_," Virgil smirked and motioned at Roman with a twisting motion, raising his eyebrow.

"Come on, you freaking _asshat_," Roman said and rolled his eyes, and grabbed Virgil's hand to head downstairs. Virgil chuckled and kissed Roman's hand as he yanked them down the hall, and Roman's ears turned pink, but he didn't turn around.

"What? You _know_ I think you look great," Virgil squeezed his hands. Roman just huffed. "You look _splendidly handsome_ and I'm a dick who should tell you instead of trust you feel it," Virgil apologized when Roman was still feeling pouty.

"_Thank you_," Roman said, and his mood lifted pretty quickly.

"So, do I get to know where we're going, Princey?" Virgil asked as they walked downstairs.

"Nope! Give me your phone and credit card," Roman said with a smirk and held out his free hand. Virgil huffed in frustration, but a little laugh came through as he handed over his credit card and his phone unlocked. Roman let go of his hand and went to the rideshare app and then blocked the screen from Virgil's view with a quick glace to Virgil. Oh, the _extra _has only just _begun_, it seems. Virgil put on his gloves, glasses, and mask again with a sigh. He crossed his arms and tapped his biceps while Roman assumedly summoned a ride.

In the back seat of the car Roman spent a bit of time entering the credit card into something on his phone in the car over to, well, wherever he was taking him. Virgil held his forearm in frustration and leaned out of the light. Roman eventually pocketed Virgil's card and his phone and reached next to him to hold Virgil's hand. Virgil sighed and let go of himself to take Roman's hand again, looking over to him warily.

"So, I can't know your plans, but can you promise it's nowhere we'll be in danger of… _things _I can't stop?" Virgil asked quietly, dancing around the subject in case the driver was listening. Roman chuckled slightly and leaned against Virgil in the back seat.

"No, you're not at any risks. I picked this first place with that very thing in mind," Roman consoled him with a little smile.

"Oh, so there're _multiple_ destinations?" Virgil asked, examining Roman carefully for any other information. Virgil wasn't a big fan of surprises.

"Yes," Roman said with a mischievous smile but didn't say anything else. Virgil huffed. "We'll have a wonderful time, _you goober_, lighten up," Roman said and shoved Virgil with his elbow lightly before sitting back up. Roman squeezed his hand reassuringly, and Virgil sighed. He'd just have to trust Roman and hope there weren't any of Virgil's fears on the agenda. And try to keep it calm enough he Roman can't feel too much of his nervousness over the shield.

The rideshare car pulled up outside of what looked like an abandoned mall. Virgil looked at it suspiciously through the window as they pulled up to a stop before tipping the driver in cash and stepping out of the car.

"Princey, this looks like somewhere people get _murdered_," Virgil muttered as Roman walked up next to him and took his hand again.

"Well, I'll certainly be putting you on _ice_," Roman smiled with a mischievous laugh. Virgil raised his eyebrow at Roman but followed as Roman tugged his hand to lead him in. "Let's put my new endurance and reflexes to the test," Roman said coquettishly as they pushed through the glass doors into a creepy empty hallway.

"Hecate, _Princey_, this isn't some kind of fuckin' fight club is it?" Virgil froze in the hall and Roman couldn't pull him forward this time.

"No, stormcloud, it's not a _fight club_. What kind of date would that be? No need to be scared of _that_. Anyway, we'd probably win. Come on, there's no fighting or crime inside. It's just the only thing left in the mall," Roman reassured him with another tug and Virgil reluctantly moved forward. He wasn't positive he wasn't walking into some kind of trap. "Virgil, seriously, it's _safe_, what kind of man do you _take me for_?" Roman huffed, rolling his eyes and stopped at some lockers in the hallway. He pulled Virgil in for a hug and rubbed his back briefly. "Let's get our shoes in the lockers,"

"I'm so _confused_," Virgil moaned and was pulled down by Roman onto a bench next to him. He sighed and undid his laces to remove them.

"You went through all that effort to polish them, so we should keep them _nice_," Roman said placatingly and took Virgil's shoes along with his to the lockers, feeding it some quarters and locking them away. Virgil rolled his eyes since scuffing his shoes wasn't exactly on the top of his list of worries right now. He sat there until Roman yanked him back up and they walked a few more feet until they entered another pair of double glass doors… to an ice skating rink. Virgil felt like a _giant freaking idiot_ for worrying so much and felt his face grow hot, dropping his head.

"I'm not positive _exactly _what that feeling is, but let's get our skates and not dwell on it," Roman said airily and kissed Virgil's cheek and they headed over to the counter. Virgil let out a sigh of relief as they walked over to the benches with their pairs of skates.

"I haven't been ice skating in a few years, so I'll have to hold on to you," Roman said flirtatiously with a cute wink. Virgil laughed at the ridiculousness of it all and shook his head while he laced his skates.

"I don't think I've been in a _little_ longer," Virgil smarmed with a chuckle and tightened his last lace, standing up and offering his arm to Roman to pull himself up with. Virgil stiffened suddenly with a realization, now leaving Roman confused for a moment. "It was a _pun_. You told another pun," Virgil accused, remembering the 'putting him on ice' comment.

"Patton has changed my opinion on them," Roman said, looking slightly flustered. Virgil laughed breezily and Roman smiled and rolled his eyes affectionately. "Come on," He said and they stepped out onto the ice.

Virgil's legs only took a half-second to readjust, but Roman had been partially stumbling if he accidentally skated even a little farther away from Virgil than he probably intended.

"Careful, Princey, this is the _least_ fun way to get a sore ass tomorrow," Virgil chided as Roman skid again.

"Oh, like there are _fun_ ways," Roman said with a huff and he straightened and went back to skating gently alongside of Virgil again. Virgil just raised his eyebrow at him and smirked.

"I think that's _subjective_," Virgil said dismissively, but Roman didn't miss his meaning and flushed a little.

"Don't distract me!" Roman whined.

"You're doing fine, it's only been a few minutes. Give your ankles some time to get the picture. Maybe you laced up funny, do you want to pull off and check?" Virgil placated him and gave him a warm smile.

"Yes, I feel like my stupid feet are slipping without me!" Roman groaned as Virgil pulled them to the next exit.

"It is _ice_, Princey," Virgil said with a laugh and helped Roman to a bench. Roman fiddled with his laces with a frustrated grunt. Once they were satisfactorily re-laced, they stepped back out into the rink, and Roman stayed perfectly upright with much less struggle this time.

"Oh my god, that's so much better! I was starting to worry I'd _regressed_ somehow!" Roman cheered with relief. Virgil smiled at him and shook his head affectionately.

"Yeah, Hecate forbid you actually be bad at something," Virgil said sarcastically.

"I am good at everything, damnit," Roman grunted when he slipped briefly, but not enough that Virgil had to help him at all. "Let's speed up," Roman said and lengthened his glide successfully. "Yes!" He cheered again after a few paces.

"Did you used to ice skate often?" Virgil asked as he watched Roman glide next to him.

"Kind of, mom just took me and Remus in the summers to cool down sometimes. She always complained that we got too riled up in the heat," Roman explained.

"You seem to be pretty good, though," Virgil said as they glided around the corners.

"I had to out-skate Remus, or he'd pull me down, even as teenagers," Roman said bitterly. Virgil laughed and squeezed Roman's arm affectionately.

"Sink or swim applies to _frozen_ water, too, who knew," Virgil said sardonically. Roman tried to punch Virgil but just ended up skidding slightly and causing Virgil to catch him. "Hey, save that for a time when you don't have _knives_ strapped to your feet," Virgil chided.

"I'll just have to keep a mental tally, then," Roman said humorously. They skated quietly for a lap until Roman seemed to get more confident, and instead of latching arms, they separated far enough that they held hands and sped up to smooth pace.

"Sorry for thinking you were taking me to some kind of murder cult," Virgil apologized. "You were right, I'm enjoying myself. Though, it helps that I'm here with a _cute boy_," Virgil said with a smirk. Roman flushed briefly.

"I knew what I was getting into trying to surprise you. Maybe you can remember this instead of freaking out when we go to the next destination," Roman said airily, looking smug.

"Or you could just _tell me_ and we could skip me freaking out _altogether_," Virgil offered a little sourly.

"That ruins the fun of it," Roman said with a mischievous laugh, waving his free hand.

"I can believe you were a little bastard kid with your brother, now," Virgil said tonelessly.

"Hey! That's another tally," Roman said with a laugh. "Did you skate much or is this just another one of those _things_?" Roman asked, skirting the immortal vampirism thing pretty well.

"I used to. It was more common, then. I can get around just fine," Virgil replied with a small shrug.

"Show me something, then," Roman said and released Virgil's hand. Much to Virgil's relief, he kept on skating relatively smoothly next to him with only a half-stumble.

"What kind of something? There's a lot of gray area there," Virgil said, skating alongside Roman.

"An Axel jump, maybe?" Roman supplied, making a little spinning motion with his fingers.

"I don't know what that means," Virgil said and furrowed his eyebrows. "How about in a language I speak?"

"How _dare_ you be gay and not have watched Yuri On Ice," Roman chastised him, pointing.

"I get it, I haven't watched a lot of the TV you have," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. "Just tell me what it is," Virgil scowled in frustration.

"Or even the _Olympics_, really?" Roman criticized him. "It's like a half spin and you land backward," Roman explained with a hand motion to mimic what he was saying.

"I'm not a sports, guy, okay?" Virgil groaned. Human sports were boring. "Half-spin and land to skate backward?" Virgil repeated him, considering it. His first try was accidentally closer to full spin and a skid which Roman laughed at, but he managed to land nearly backward and skated facing Roman on the second try.

"Wow, I was sort of expecting a fail, not you actually pulling it off," Roman said, half impressed and half bitterly.

"I've skated backward, I just don't normally jump on ice," Virgil offered. He steered carefully in front of Roman and slowed down to grab his hands and pull Roman along the ice. Roman smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Show off," He beamed.

"That's not showing off," Virgil snarked at Roman. "You know I can do better,"

"I know _no_ such thing," Roman huffed and looked away playfully. Virgil took that opportunity to stop and let Roman run into him, where he grabbed him by the waist and lifted him over his head while he skated backward. Roman screeched in surprise, but it quickly morphed into a laugh and he straightened out in a pose.

"You're holding me backwards!" Roman called out humorously. Virgil turned and skidded momentarily to skate forwards again. "That's not what I mean, you dork!" Virgil laughed and slowed down to carefully lower Roman back onto the ice. Roman slipped, and Virgil ended up skating right into him and holding him off the ice.

"Whoops," Virgil said and skidded to a halt towards the edge.

"That could have been extremely painful," Roman said with a sigh of relief as Virgil place him down.

"Sorry," Virgil apologized softly.

"It's fine, Virge, no harm, no foul. I'm getting pretty cold, but you think you can maybe lift me again so I can face forwards? It always looked so fun on TV," Roman asked.

"You _just_ did that," Virgil said in confusion.

"Looking at your butt and feeling the wind on my face are different joys in life, Virge," Roman flirted slightly. "Please?" Virgil sighed. He didn't hurt him after all. It probably wasn't a big deal. Virgil shrugged off his leather jacket and dropped it over Roman's shoulders, who slid it on.

"All right," Virgil said and took Roman's hand once he was done putting on Virgil's coat and led him back out into the center of the ice.

"It's going to look so cool," Roman muttered and beamed at him. Virgil chuckled slightly and shook his head. Once they got back the momentum, Virgil pulled Roman's hand to send him ahead and lift him as he curved around. It was a hard angle to pull off, honestly. Roman squealed with excitement and held out his arms as they skated around the rink. Virgil gained more speed and jumped into a spin and skidded back to skating forward. Roman shrieked joyously when he jumped. Virgil slowed to a full stop this time and dropped Roman to his shoulder and leaned back so he could place him down on the ice without flipping him.

"Satisfied?" Virgil asked with a smirk. He loved showing off to Roman, it made him feel very capable instead of his normal low-level fear.

"_Very_," Roman smiled and kissed Virgil on the cheek. They took another lap around the edge of the rink hand-in-hand, Roman skating pretty confidently now, even if he slipped sometimes. They let go so they could speed up, and Virgil ran into a wall watching Roman make a turn that Virgil worried would be too fast. That amused Roman extremely, and he nearly fell over laughing at Virgil. Virgil was okay with it as long as he didn't have to see Roman get hurt. Roman checked the fancy watch he was wearing.

"Come on, let's go to the next destination," Roman said and started towards the front desk after he stopped laughing. There was that normal fear level again. Ugh. Virgil skated after him to return the skates.

Virgil had unlocked his phone for Roman again so he could get another ride as they left the rink.

"Hey, why do you use rideshares over cabs?" Roman asked as he shrugged back off Virgil's jacket in the hallway so Virgil could protect himself from the sun.

"Rideshares usually have poor people trying to make ends meet. Then I can give big tips where people need them most," Virgil explained and slid his sunglasses out of his pocket and pulled up his hood. They locked arms again as they walked out to the entrance. The sun was setting now, which was a relief since he didn't have any more sunscreen with him.

"Guerrilla charity, then?" Roman asked with amusement.

"It's more guerrilla if they don't know it's me and I'm there and gone. Like social media donations," Virgil said and stopped before where the last of the setting sun beaming through the window ended. "Any hints for me at all?"

"Nope," Roman said and popped the 'p' at him, reaching into Virgil's pocket and squeezing his hand. "Driver's pulling up," He said and lead him back outside. Virgil tapped his foot nervously in the rideshare but settled slightly when Roman leaned against him again. "It's not that far, you _big baby_," Roman nearly scolded Virgil.

"I don't get much say in where my mind goes, Princey," Virgil said sourly.

"I keep telling you to make an appointment with Emile," Roman said. Virgil just rolled his eyes and watched the skyline darken out the window. Roman seemed confident, so Virgil tried his best to trust him. The rideshare pulled up to a hotel, of all places. Virgil shot Roman a quick look, but Roman just shrugged.

"Uhm," Virgil wasn't sure what to say or even think.

"Get your head out of the _gutter_," Roman said with a brief laugh and they stepped out of the car and headed inside. Roman lead him past the front desk and through the lobby to the stairwell, huffing as he pulled open the door. "You're lucky I like you because we're going up 12 stories," Roman grunted and took Virgil's hand as he started towards the stairs.

"You can take the elevator _without_ me," Virgil mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"It's _rude _to abandon your date," Roman said firmly and gave his hand a squeeze and they ascended. Roman was annoyed, but his mood didn't really seem to drop much as they climbed. He certainly moaned and groaned plenty, though. Virgil chuckled inwardly at his stubbornness. Roman stopped to catch his breath when they had a few floors left, and checked his hair in his phone's front camera during the break. Roman cheered as the climbed the final flight of stairs. "Finally!" He sighed with relief and held the door open for Virgil with a bow.

They stepped out onto a rooftop cafe with giant windows that let you overlook the surrounding area and plenty of plants and flowers. There was a pianist playing across the room and the place was generally very fancy. Roman and Virgil stepped up to the greeter's podium and Roman produced Virgil's credit card from his wallet.

"Reservation for Tempest, _please_," Roman said cordially and showed the credit card. The server nodded after glancing at it and Roman pocketed it again.

"Right this way, gentleman," He said, gathering two menus and leading them to their table. Roman and Virgil were seated at a candlelit table under a tree right at the window. Virgil could see for miles and took it all in. He looked around a little in awe as they sat down and the greeter backed away.

"The view isn't the best thing going on tonight, either," Roman said smugly. Virgil looked to Roman in confusion. "You'll see in a little bit," He offered as a server came with fresh bread for the table and took their drink orders from Roman. Virgil looked around again and listened to the piano player as he watched the cars flying past below them.

"So, you wanted the fancy restaurant, _after all_," Virgil mused after a minute or so.

"Well, maybe, but I found this place while looking for somewhere _you_ would like," Roman said, slightly kicking Virgil's foot under the table.

"Did you forget something _very important_?" Virgil asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No, I looked at reviews and took a gamble. The fact that _I_ get a fancy dinner is simply a bonus," Roman said with a smirk. A server came back with their drink orders, Roman getting water and a virgin mai tai, and Virgil getting his regular black coffee. The coffee smelled absolutely amazing. He took a sip and was in awe at the richness and complexity of flavour. "The coffee here is some special bean with some fancy brewing process for my least favourite coffee hipster," Roman said smugly.

"You're a damn _genius_," Virgil muttered as he took another drink.

"You _know _it, baby," Roman laughed lightly and sipped his own drink. Virgil held the cup and sighed contentedly. Roman placed his hand on the table for Virgil to take, but Virgil looked around in concern instead. "It's not the 1800s, Virgil, you can hold a man's hand in a restaurant," Roman whispered. Virgil sighed and nodded, reaching out to take his hand. It wasn't that much different from ice skating, but it was casual there. This couldn't be interpreted as anything but affection. He wasn't exactly used to this kind of thing. Virgil closed his eyes and listened to the piano player, focusing on the melody instead of letting his mind pull up all the bullshit he'd had to hide from in the past. When Virgil opened his eyes back up, Roman was smiling softly at him and enjoying some bread.

"It must be a little _weird_ for you, huh?" Roman asked gently.

"It is. I can't say I'm _fully _over it yet. Isn't it weird for you?" Virgil asked in response. Roman had only recently come out of the closet, himself.

"I thought it would be weirder, but it's much more _natural_ than any girl's hand I've ever held," Roman replied sincerely. Virgil hummed in agreement and enjoyed some more coffee. A server came to take Roman's order of beef wellington and Virgil ordered a carafe of the amazing coffee so he wouldn't have to stop drinking.

Another cup of coffee and part of a beef wellington in, Virgil watched with interest as people with instruments filed onto a small stage with seats against the wall near the piano player. Roman looked over to see where he was looking and smiled, then went back to his dinner. It looked like a small orchestra. Virgil sipped his coffee and listened to the first peal of violins as they warmed up.

"You found me a live chamber orchestra to listen to?" Virgil asked curiously, feeling very flattered that Roman would go through all this effort for him.

"It's a little better than that, Virgil," Roman said. "Though this is the _gamble _part of the evening," Roman said, a little less confidently.

"I thought the gamble was the _coffee_?" Virgil asked curiously.

"No, the reviews were pretty clear there. Plus it's like a thirty dollar cup, it's got to be good. The gamble was that this particular place hosts waltzes," Roman explained a little nervously. "You waltzed with me back at the club, before… _you know_... I only learned how to waltz for a play, so I'm not the best, but I thought you might enjoy dancing to classical music instead of extra loud pop," Roman explained, sounding hopeful.

"I… Princey, I don't think I've waltzed in years," Virgil whispered. "Thank you," Virgil said softly and shrunk a little. Virgil loved waltzing, as out of date as it was now. He and Deceit would crash parties to waltz, it was basically the only social thing he liked doing at the time. He also was employed to play for waltzes, so they made up a few decades of this time. He had really fond memories of waltzes in general. Virgil looked up to Roman who was blushing pretty hard. Virgil reached out and squeezed Roman hand affectionately. "I'll tell you the full story sometime. Don't eat too much or I'll twirl you _sick_," Virgil said with a little chuckle and squeezed Roman's hand. Roman smiled back, looking very pleased.

Virgil and Roman walked out onto the dance floor hand in hand along with a selection of the other patrons as the chamber orchestra started up Skater's Waltz. Roman's nervousness completely cleared up as they started to glide together across the floor. Roman beamed up at him as Virgil spun him on the floor. Virgil grinned back at him as he twirled back into his chest. They followed the vague pattern with the other patrons and Virgil enjoyed every second of the song together. At the end of the song when they bowed together, Roman looked up to Virgil a with a glint in his eyes.

"So, Virgil, will you be my boyfriend?" He panted and held Virgil's hand, bowing his head to kiss Virgil's knuckles.

"Of course, I will, you fucking extra _idiot_," Virgil laughed quietly and pulled him in for a kiss proper kiss.


	24. Attraction

After their _very_ successful date, Roman and Virgil were laying together on the air mattress and holding hands while they barely watched the cast recording of Arcadia. Roman was very distracted, and with Virgil's shield down he was also struggling to pay attention. Virgil hoped Patton was at their dorm still because there's no way they wouldn't get lost in the showers or buy 20 dogs or something while Virgil and Roman were caught up in the loop.

"You better speak up, angel, before Pat finds themselves getting lost in the 5 steps from their loft to the toilet," Virgil said and ran his hand through Roman's hair.

"What?" Roman asked, looking to Virgil.

"Exactly," Virgil stated plainly, and then was distracted by Roman's bright eyes. He shook his head to try to refocus. "You're distracting everybody," Virgil clarified.

"Sorry, there's a lot on my mind," Roman mumbled and Virgil ran his hand through Roman's hair affectionately.

"I_ know_, let's get some of it out," Virgil softly requested. "What's on my Prince's plate and how can we toss the entire thing?"

"You need not break my plate, Virgil," Roman said and rolled his eyes at him.

"Just _tell me_, you cagey bitch, before I flip to the ceiling and take you with me," Virgil threatened Roman, though they both knew it was empty by the hint of playfulness in his annoyance.

"_Fine_, the money thing is weird to me," Roman said.

"Among other things, I'm sure. You've never been this distracted over it before, and didn't mind spending it this afternoon," Virgil said and brushed Roman's knuckles with his thumb, sucked up by the feeling and losing his train of thought again. They sat in silence for a moment until Roman sighed.

"Yeah, _among other things_," Roman replied finally.

"Listen, if you don't want money you don't have to take it. It's just a resource you have now," Virgil explained. "I'm not forcing it on you, I just see problems money can fix and offer it," Virgil tried to console him.

"I _want_ to be as blase about it as you but it's not how I was raised," Roman shrugged slightly.

"Yeah, I know, capitalist brainwashing, human struggle, society, all that stuff," Virgil said. Roman just looked at him oddly. "I give away money all the time, Roman, you're not the first objector. If you feel gross, just spend as much on random charity as you do on yourself. D will tell you to back off if you're spending too much,"

"So you would seriously pay my tuition? It would really help my parents out," Roman asked softly.

"So it was big expenses that were bothering you? But of course, I'll pay for it. We can get you a fake part-time job to pay for it to avoid possible inquisitions," Virgil tried to explain while Roman's mood tried to throw him off. "But if that's not what you want, I won't force it on you," He accidentally repeated. It was hard to focus.

"Yeah," Roman said oddly solemnly. "Remus has been complaining about not getting as much help as me since his schooling was cheaper. He texted that he needed new shoes and mom and dad wouldn't buy them. I was hoping I could tell them to spend it on Remus instead of me, so he could get the things he needs. I've been feeling awful about getting more help than him. I know he's a little asshole sometimes, but he was just acting out for attention. It's like they're trying to punish him for his grades not being good enough to get into university with me,"

"You can tell them that you'll pay for yourself and send him a bunch of pre-loaded credit cards if you want," Virgil offered. "If he wants, he can always transfer to university if he gets his grades up. That's much easier if he's not walking around in dead shoes. Hell, we can send him some fancy boots or something," Virgil shrugged. "You _do_ look great in boots,"

"Are you serious?" Roman asked and stared at Virgil intently.

"Entirely. Sending cash is a bad idea and bank transfers are tracked. Gift cards would let him buy most of the things he needs even if your asshole parents don't help after you ask them to," Virgil explained to him and ran his free hand along Roman's arm assuringly.

"_Hey_!" Roman objected and glared at him.

"Well, you don't paint the _greatest_ picture of them, starshine," Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman, but the intensity in Roman's face didn't drop. Virgil leaned forward to kiss Roman's forehead. "I'm sorry I insulted your parents, love," Virgil apologized.

"Maybe they aren't the greatest, but it's _fucked up_ to insult somebody else's parents, Virge," Roman grunted and glowered at Virgil. At least Roman's weird mood wasn't throwing Virgil off anymore.

"I wouldn't know," Virgil said blithely and rolled his eyes.

"I could always insult Hecate, she's like your _mom_ or something, right?" Roman asked sarcastically.

"You insult Hecate and she may_ never_ give you a gift," Virgil reprimanded him shortly, shooting him a small glare.

"I'm surprised you even believe that stuff," Roman sighed in exasperation.

"Most born vampires do. We can feel something and we innately know what it is. I just know what I feel. I'm not insulting _your_ beliefs," Virgil grunted and pulled his hand back from Roman to cross his arms, but Roman gripped Virgil's hand and didn't let him withdraw.

"Fine, let's call it even. You don't get it and I don't get it, but at least we get we shouldn't insult each other for it. _Deal_?" Roman offered.

"Okay," Virgil said and relaxed again. "It may not hurt to be more _open_ to the idea if you want a gift so bad," Virgil said.

"Yeah, _sure_, Virge, I'll just abandon _all_ my beliefs on the _off chance_ it changes anything," Roman said sardonically.

"I didn't say _abandon_, just open. They're not _diametrically opposed_," Virgil clarified and held Roman's face briefly. Roman just huffed. "You don't have to, it just might help your odds if you decide you want to try for one. I can't say I know how it works," Roman stayed silent. It was fine if he didn't want to discuss it. Virgil could understand where he was coming from, at least on this point. Virgil was thankful Roman was finally less distracted, but this weird conflicted feeling wasn't much better. He'd rather go back to spacing out when he admired his lovely new boyfriend. Maybe he could change the subject and lift his mood.

"So, why did you pick today for your super date?" Virgil asked softly and stroked Roman's face.

"Oh, it was just the first day off after I decided. I knew you'd be busy with Pat all Saturday," Roman said. The feeling subsided slightly, which was nice.

"So, when did you decide?" Virgil asked and ran his hand gently along the back of Roman's head.

"Friday night," Roman responded, sounding a little dismissive.

"What made Friday night special? We just watched movies," Virgil asked curiously, softly playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

"I, uh, it wasn't so much about the _day_," Roman stumbled slightly and looked away. Virgil looked to Roman with intrigue, but he didn't explain further. Virgil pulled him in for a hug and stroked his back, feeling Roman's mood.

"Okay," Virgil breathed. He wasn't sure if he should push him to move past this or just let it lie. He didn't want to make Roman angry again. So, Virgil opted not to push it and hoped Roman would decide for him. "Whatever it is, you don't have to be embarrassed about it. I guarantee I've done every stupid thing on the planet by now and it's hard to faze me," Virgil offered in solidarity.

"This is another problem you won't understand," Roman said, looked away, and squeezed his hand.

"A _family_ thing?" Virgil couldn't help but hope for clarification.

"No, it's just something that you were born with that I wasn't sure I wanted," Roman sighed. Virgil stiffened. Fuck, did he regret it now?

"Shit, I'm _sorry_, Ro! I would take it back if-" Virgil started freaking out, he didn't expect the conversation to go and felt like he was hit with a brick of guilt all at once.

"No, Virgil! Settle down! I'm still happy with being extra awesome!" Roman interjected and Virgil let out a big sigh. "God, you're still harboring that? Let it go," Roman moaned. "That physically _hurt_,"

"Sorry. You could still regret it down the line," Virgil mumbled and tried to calm back down.

"You are the most _pessimistic_ person on the planet," Roman grumbled. "Look, I wasn't sure I was willing to be in a non-monogamous relationship," Roman finally admitted. Virgil looked at him in confusion.

"I know you just asked me out, but I'll give you your space if you changed your mind," Virgil offered, feeling morose and looking weakly to Roman, backing up slightly on the air mattress.

"I didn't change my mind, stormcloud, _seriously_, settle down. I didn't mean to make you freak out. I barely knew you _could_," Roman said, looking confused.

"You're important to me," Virgil said quietly.

"I guess I'll take it as a compliment. I mean it. I'm _happy_ with you, okay?" Roman said emphatically. Virgil nodded and exhaled slightly. "I just always thought I was a one guy kind of person. But I like both you and Patton. And it didn't feel wrong when we all cuddled watching movies, and it didn't feel wrong to go to sleep with the both of you either, even though we weren't dating or whatever. You were sweet and focused on caring for them, but I didn't feel ignored or unloved," Roman explained softly and pulled Virgil back in to hold him. "I don't know how I feel about your other boyfriends yet, but I don't think the things I was worried about are genuine issues. And maybe I'm less monogamous than I thought, too, since I'd still say yes if Pat was interested," Roman mumbled the last part. Virgil softened. He wished Roman would have talked to him about all this before, but maybe it was important for Roman to think about it alone. Either way he was immensely relieved.

"Thanks for telling me, starshine," Virgil nestled into Roman, holding him on the air mattress. "You seemed _okay _with Deceit when he left last time," Virgil said. "Are you warming up to him?"

"He's certainly a dramatic bitch. He offered to teach me archery when we visited him at the estate, which is pretty cool of him," Roman said, thankfully sounding interested in further interactions.

"So you could get along as friends?" Virgil asked, hoping they could like each other instead of continuing to clash.

"We could be _cordial_," Roman offered, but Virgil felt something surprising from Roman.

"You like him a little, _huh?_" Virgil asked with a light chuckle.

"Just a little! After he stopped threatening me he got all affectionate and teasing instead of being an asshole," Roman said a little defensively. "Kind of like you, but more dramatic and theatrical,"

"Ah, I can see how that maybe is something you'd be into," Virgil laughed and Roman squeezed him hard. "I _give_, Princey, if we wrestle on the air mattress we'll pop it," Virgil conceded quickly. Roman released him and took his hand again. "So, did what Deceit said to you when he came to visit Patton have anything to do with your change in attitude towards him?" Virgil asked, and Roman's heart rate spiked slightly, and he flushed.

"He said something sweet but _immediately_ chased it by embarrassing me with too much information, so _not really_," Roman said, sounding almost a little winded.

"That's very on-brand for Deceit. What did he say?" Virgil asked with amusement.

"He, uh, compared real-life you to dream-you," Roman coughed. Virgil rolled his eyes. That was _extremely_ on-brand for Deceit.

"Sorry. He likes to make his gift everyone else's curse. It's kind of a hard one to have. I hope it was at least a kind comparison," Virgil said with a sigh.

"Yes, it was a very _glowing_ recommendation," Roman sighed right back, a little bitterly. Virgil blushed when he remembered exactly what Roman was dreaming about.

"_Wait_, weren't you dreaming about-" Virgil started.

"We can not talk about that, thanks," Roman cut him off before he could say it.

"It was just a _dream,_ Roman, I'm not-," Virgil tried to offer in for solace.

"_We could just not talk about it, thanks_," Roman said again, a little louder. Virgil shook his head and looked back to the laptop.

"Oh, crap, we talked through the rest of the cast recording," Virgil muttered and sat up.

"Whatever, as long as I see it before Wednesday. I don't really feel like restarting it this late," Roman said and yawned lightly. "Any chance you'll stay unshielded and sleep with me tonight?" Roman asked, looking hopeful.

"I don't mind. But if I stay unshielded the whole night I might wake you and Pat up worrying or something," Virgil warned him and pulled him close again, kissing his hair.

"I suppose that means you shouldn't worry then," Roman said snarkily. Virgil released him and huffed.

"That's not how anxiety works," Virgil responded bitterly.

"I still think you should talk to Emile," Roman chided him.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Virgil replied impassively. He did want to ask him something.

"Cool," Roman remarked and yawned again. "Play me something on the piano?"

"Sure, darling, any requests?" Virgil asked and pulled himself to his feet off the air mattress. Roman picked up the laptop and returned it to the charger as Virgil sat at his synth.

"Do you have anything you wrote that's calm?" Roman asked as he grabbed the weighted blanket off Virgil's bed to lay back down under.

"You've already heard one of them. I have a few. Are you looking for like mystical forest vibes or a rainy night?" Virgil asked, trying to narrow it down. Roman looked at him oddly for a moment.

"A rainy night?" He asked, sounding confused, and Virgil just nodded and started playing. The air mattress behind him shifted a few times until Roman settled in. "Come back to bed in two songs," Roman murmured.

"Of course, sweet Prince," Virgil cooed with a little chuckle.

—

Virgil had texted to Patton and Logan the next afternoon to invite them out for lunch. Roman had come back from his morning classes and tried to go eat more of that garbage campus pizza before Virgil convinced him otherwise. It would have been nice to see everybody. Especially give Patton the hug owed to them after last night's emotional debacle waking them up. Roman and Virgil walked through the campus afternoon with their arms hooked to the pizza parlor nearby, planning to order ahead while Patton and Roman got there. Patton had to finish up a class and Virgil and Logan didn't want them walking alone.

Roman was tapping the table impatiently with the two hot pizzas and garlic knots right in front of him, waiting to take a bite. He held Virgil's hand under the table and tapped his foot.

"They're almost here, I don't think they'll mind if you go ahead," Virgil said and stroked his thumb over the back of Roman's hand.

"That's bad manners, Virgil," Roman huffed and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. Virgil felt Patton enter the building and raised up his arm so Patton and Logan could pick them out in the lunch crowd. They thankfully were against a wall near the entrance so Virgil could handle it. Virgil was still a bit on edge, but it helped that Roman was here with him. It would help more when Patton and Logan sat down, probably. Patton rounded the corner and lit up when they saw Virgil, bounding over as carefully as possible. Patton pulled Virgil into a bear hug when they got to the table, yanking Virgil out the chair and Roman's hand. They clearly don't have the best handle on their strength yet, but Virgil thought it was funny.

"Virgil!" The exclaimed and rubbed noses with Virgil, which was a little surprising.

"Sorry again," Virgil mumbled into their ear while they hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, honey, I get it," Patton said softly and rubbed his back. Virgil picked up Patton and gave them a little spin, and they giggled airily as Virgil set them down to eat.

Patton went over to Roman and gave him the same hug treatment with a wide smile. Logan walked over with a nod to Roman and sat on the other side of Virgil at the round table, giving Virgil a special smile that would have melted his heart if he had one. Logan reached out and squeezed Virgil's hand before selecting a slice of pizza from the pie. Patton dropped excitedly into the free chair between Roman and Logan and eyed the pizza hungrily, probably trying to pick their first victim. Pizza. Whatever. Fish are _friends_, not food. It was _loud_ in here. Virgil sat down and sipped his espresso and tried to shake all the sensory input from blasting his brain.

"Thank you for the lunch, Virgil," Logan said, sounding upbeat. He placed the pizza slice on a small plate next to his Italian side salad and tucked into the salad first.

"Anytime, Logan," Virgil smiled back.

"How much do I owe you Virge?" Patton asked, lifting up their large compartment wallet with a unicorn on it.

"You'll never owe me, Pat," Virgil said shook his head, holding up his hand.

"You've already got me a few times," Patton refuted him with a frown.

"Money's not a big deal to me. It's an enormous deal to you," Virgil said seriously. "It's fine, I promise," Virgil tried to give them a comforting smile.

"I don't like owing you," Patton pouted.

"Then, poof, you don't owe me!" Virgil exclaimed with a flourish. "Just enjoy some pizza. If it still bothers you we can discuss it later, okay?" Virgil conceded. Patton nodded suspiciously and took a slice to enjoy. Their face cheered back up after the first bite though. Logan turned to Virgil and smiled again with a nod before returning to his salad.

Virgil sipped his espresso as his friends all ate in silence for a moment. Either it was really good, or they were all really hungry. Roman was quite literally stuffing his face with a garlic knot at the moment, which Virgil laughed at. Roman rolled his eyes at Virgil and shoved him with his shoulder. He finished off the knot and smiled, looking to the others and puffing up his chest with pride.

"Oh, Pat, Logan. I asked out Virge yesterday," Roman said proudly as he reached for another slice of pizza.

"Aaah!" Patton shook their fists happily. "I knew you could do it, Ro!" Patton cheered and lifted their glass. Roman lifted his cup, and they clinked the cups together in celebration.

"I was under the impression you were _already_ dating," Logan said with a little confusion in his voice. Virgil laughed airily while Roman looked confused.

"No, we weren't," Virgil clarified. "I'm sorry, I suppose I should have specified that I already had a boyfriend _off-campus_, not that I was already dating my roommate. He goes by Deceit. I'll make sure you meet the next time he visits," Virgil said with a chuckle, shaking his head with amusement and sipping his drink again while he leaned forward on his arms.

"Why did everybody think we were already dating?" Roman groaned. Virgil gently shoved Roman with his shoulder, and Roman shot him a look. Virgil just shrugged and smirked at him.

"You two just gave off that _vibe_!" Patton said cheerily, reaching for another slice.

"We insulted each other constantly," Roman objected, flipping his hand dismissively in the air before taking a bite of pizza.

"We still _do_, Princey," Virgil added and laughed again, leaning back in his chair.

"I suppose this is what is called a polycule?" Logan asked, taking his knife and fork to his pizza. Patton smiled.

"Uh, Pat, is this what's called a polycule?" Virgil asked Patton pointedly. Virgil had no clue.

"I think so, kiddo," Patton nodded. "Though, I don't know why you asked me?" Patton tilted their head in confusion.

"I'm a meme lord, not caught up on new vocab," Virgil responded and flipped out his palm. "It seemed like something you'd know. You called me gender-fluid before I really found a word for what I am," Virgil admitted with a little dismissive hand movement.

"Oh _god_, you're a meme lord? I should have known. You send one every 3 texts," Roman groaned. "We're _divorced_," Roman pouted facetiously and smirked as he went back to eating. Virgil laughed and enjoyed more espresso.

"So what's a polycule?" Virgil asked and reached out to rub Roman's shoulder affectionately.

"It's a relationship network of non-monogamous partners that looks similar to a molecule when illustrated," Logan clarified. Virgil smiled at him and leaned towards Logan.

"I guess you did some extracurricular research, then," Virgil commented with a knowing smirk.

"I prefer to be well-versed in _all_ things I do," Logan said with a hint of pride.

"And it's very attractive," Virgil winked at Logan, who got a hint of pink as he ate. Virgil could feel Patton being flustered in a brief spike, and Roman looked up from his pizza in confusion.

'Is everything alright, Pat?' Virgil asked them mentally. Patton nodded quickly and went back to their pizza. Roman shot Virgil a glace, but Virgil just gave a small shrug in response. He'd have to ask Pat later. He hadn't had a chance yet to teach Pat how to use the clan telepathy. Logan looked at Roman and Virgil oddly for a moment, but returned to his pizza after a moment.

"So did you pull off the date you described to me?" Patton asked, sounding like they were trying to sound disaffected but there was a distinct interest breaking through.

"I most certainly did," Roman said proudly and smiled smugly.

"I thought this was barely a premeditated thing. You texted Patton about it?" Virgil asked with a raised eyebrow. Patton was incapacitated all Saturday, which meant Roman texted Patton while Virgil was out for the few hours with Logan.

"It's not like Patton didn't_ know_ I was considering it, and I wanted to talk to someone about it," Roman said defensively and took another slice of pizza with a slight pout on his face.

"I hope one of you will teach me how to ballroom dance," Patton said wistfully and leaned forward on their elbows, seeming to look at something in the distance.

"That could probably be arranged," Virgil offered. Patton looked very eager at the prospect. Virgil wasn't sure when Patton would have the time with their part-time job, but maybe Virgil could solve that if he could get Patton to be less weird about money.

"Which form of ballroom dancing are you referring to?" Logan asked curiously. "I can teach you to foxtrot," He added off-handedly.

"Oh, I didn't expect you and the foxtrot. We were talking about waltzing," Virgil clarified, leaning back on one arm while he held his drink in the other.

"There's more than one kind of ballroom dancing?" Patton asked curiously, leaning towards Logan.

"Yes, there are many forms of ballroom dance, as well as regional variants," Logan supplied.

"There's a _story_ behind the foxtrot, right?" Roman asked. "You're not exactly _Mr. Fun and sunshine_," Roman made a face and motioned towards Logan with his free hand.

"Be_ nice_," Virgil rolled his eyes and squeezed Roman's shoulder.

"No, Roman is not inaccurate. I am not 'Mr. Fun-and-Sunshine', which is a _ridiculous_ surname. My fathers taught me when I was a child," Logan explained, and he looked surprisingly proud of that fact.

"That's so cute!" Patton cooed. "Little baby Logan doing the foxtrot," Patton said with a high voice and danced their fingers on the tabletop.

"I wonder if we could hunt down a flapper dress for that. I always think about the swaying tassels when I think of the foxtrot," Virgil said nostalgically and shook his fingers as if they were the tassels.

"Can you foxtrot as well, Virgil?" Logan asked inquisitively, turning slightly towards Virgil.

"Not really, I just used to watch it," Virgil replied dismissively. He used to play in a band that did the music for it, anyway. "I only know both kinds of waltz and the paso doble," Virgil provided.

"Double pace?" Roman asked in confusion, raising his eyebrow and lowering his pizza slice.

"It's a type of dance where you mimic traditional Spanish bullfighting," Logan explained quickly. "I apologize, Virgil, but that is possibly more surprising than my knowledge of the foxtrot," Logan said, sounding very puzzled.

"Would it help if I told you I usually dance the cape?" Virgil offered meekly with a light shrug.

"No, that does not alleviate any bafflement. It's an uncommon dance that's mostly competitive," Logan said, looking to Virgil in confusion.

"Oh, Patton, we have to look this up," Roman said, whipping out his smartphone. Patton scooted their chair over next to Roman and looked at his phone screen. It sounded like they pulled up a video of the dance and Virgil buried his face in his hands. That's what he gets for being so forthcoming. Stupid tiny computers in everybody's pockets making it so they could look up every dumb thing he said. He used to dance it with Deceit. While drunk at parties in France.

'It was popular and was _very drunk_, okay!' Virgil shot mentally to his two Brood, but they just broke out laughing at him as he glared at them sourly.

"You danced this with Deceit, right? I want to see! Do you still have the dress? Can I try on the dress!?" Patton's words rushed together in excitement as they barraged Virgil with questions.

"No, I don't still have the dress," Virgil groaned and squeezed his knees under the table in frustration, fighting the urge to bash his head against the table.

"I can visualize Deceit dancing this very easily. I'm guessing it was his idea?" Roman asked, smirking at Virgil very knowingly. Knowing he was making Virgil even more embarrassed, anyway.

"If it involved parties, it was probably Deceit's idea," Virgil grumbled and rubbed his face.

"What a_ bizarre_ hobby for teenagers," Logan mumbled. Roman barked in laughter, and Patton giggled. Virgil buried his face in his hands. If Deceit could feel this, he better know that it was his fucking fault.

"It takes _two_ to paso doble, Virgil," Roman said mockingly, Roman and Patton's cheeks both tinted little pink with embarrassment and fidgeting slightly. Virgil groaned again as he peaked out between his fingers.

"Oh, you don't have to be embarrassed, Virge! It's such a passionate dance!" Patton consoled Virgil cheerily and shifted back in front of their plate for a garlic knot.

"Yes, and it requires skill. It may be an odd pastime for American teenagers, but it is not one without merit," Logan added. Virgil sighed in relief and reached for Logan's hand under the table to give it a brief squeeze of thanks. Roman rolled his eyes and returned to his pizza as well. There was another pause that let Virgil breathe through the rest of his embarrassment before conversation started again.

"Do you want to go do some sketch homework together tonight, Virge? I think It'd be fun to go sketch that swirly sculpture in front of the library," Patton asked.

"Yeah, it would be interesting to draw," Virgil nodded, remembering that weird sculpture and all the curves.

"Nerds," Roman scoffed affectionately. Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman and pushed him slightly as Roman was glancing down at his phone. "Don't you have to get to class soon, Pat?" Roman asked.

"Oh, shoot, I do! Don't eat all the leftovers without me, Ro," Patton said, quickly trying to shove the rest of their slice in their mouth.

"It was _one time_," Roman drawled and Virgil chuckled at him. Patton quickly wiped their hands off on their napkin with their mouth full of the rest of their slice. They skipped around the table to hug Roman and Virgil goodbye. "I'll walk you back, Pat. Get us a box, Virge," Roman said and wiped off his hands.

"Very chivalrous, thank you," Virgil smiled at Roman.

"I am a Prince, after all," Roman said with a brief pose and leaned down to kiss Virgil on the cheek quickly before following Patton out of the restaurant.

"Would you like to study together while we wait for the lecture to start?" Logan offered a little shyly, shifting a bit in his seat. He was so cute.

"That sounds amazing, Logan. I'll just have to swing by my dorm for my laptop," Virgil said and smiled at Logan, happy to spend more time with him. "Let me go hunt down that box and we can head out," Logan nodded with a brief smile, and Virgil got up to head to the counter for a pizza box to combine the pies and remaining knots in. The person at the counter handed one over quickly without him even asking for one. It must be pretty common here. Virgil returned to the table and leaned forward towards Logan and paused. Logan nodded and Virgil planted a kiss on Logan's temple and started loading up the pizza. "I don't suppose there will be any kissing in this study session?" Virgil asked smoothly and lifted his eyebrow. Logan turned red for a moment and his heart rate jumped and Virgil couldn't help but grin at this nerd.

"With the subject material I don't believe it will be much of a distraction," Logan said quietly and nodded. "Are you sure?" He asked meekly.

"You are wonderful at kissing and your ex was a jerk," Virgil said gently and loaded up the pizza. "Come on, let's make review material interesting. I'll kiss you every time you get a practice calculus question right," Virgil winked.

"Virgil, then we'll be kissing more than studying," Logan smirked playfully, looking proud of himself.

"We'll find a balance. There's probably an equation for that. Balance time remaining with time kissing and time studying. That's basic algebra, you can do it in your head," Virgil smirked and closed up the box, holding out his hand for Logan who was wiping his hand on his napkin.

"2 to 1?" Logan asked, sounding very interested.

"I'm fine with any ratio," Virgil shrugged and Logan took his hand to stand. Logan started walking out, looking up and counting with his fingers.

"Yes, I think we can find an optimal balance with the remaining time," Logan said as he continued to count in his head. "But the equation may need adjusting after we begin studying," Logan said cautiously.

"All the most enjoyable kinds of math do," Virgil grinned impishly at Logan who had a fascinated smile as they headed out and back to the dorms.


	25. The Star

Virgil wished he could replace his whole IT class with laying side by side with Logan on their laptops and learning to code. Learning is three times as fun when it's paired with kissing your boyfriend, and it's already pretty damn fun. Logan really lights up when he's learning and Virgil loved watching him smile while they went over some extracurricular learning. The class was even less dreadful afterwords. Or perhaps Virgil was just walking on clouds still from Logan's very gentle kisses. Virgil plodded back to his dorm afterward to catch up on his new online class homework for the week so he could get it out of the way.

Roman must have left to practice his pieces again since he wasn't in the dorm when Virgil got back. After being will all three of them at lunch, it was a little lonely in the dorm by himself. Virgil didn't mind the time to focus on his schoolwork, but he must have gotten used to working quietly with Roman across the room already. Either that or there was just a little bond separation melancholy going on. Virgil didn't fully know how all this bullshit worked with Broods. He hadn't made one since D, and Virgil didn't remember much before they met. He knew someone who might though, someone he promised he'd text. Virgil pulled out his phone and texted Emile.

'Hey, you busy? This is V. Ro gave me your number,' Virgil sent.

'Not at the moment. I have an appointment in 20 minutes. Roman mentioned he'd been bothering you to text me. Did you want to set up an appointment?' Emile sent back. Virgil groaned in objection. This was about how he thought it would go.

'No. I'm not interested in opening up that can of worms. Thomas said you could help with disambiguation and I wanted to know if there were any Brood facts I didn't know. Like, for instance, if I just miss my friends or if there's some bond bullshit happening right now.' Virgil sent back.

'There's a little of separation anxiety with the bond, yes. (Perhaps also an instinct to protect being on high alert.) The bond isn't bullhonkey, V, it's a wonderful thing to share with others.' Emile responded.

'Tell that to the last time Deceit and I broke up.' Virgil sent back bitterly.

'I wouldn't know what happened there, friendo. you'd have to tell me.' Emile sent.

'Let. Sleeping. Dogs. Lie. Emile.' Virgil texted with clapping emojis. 'What about emotional disambiguation?'

'As Remington puts it, I'd love it if you spilled the tea. But I can't force you to talk about anything you don't want to.' Emile sent. Remington? Wow, that's an older one. Maybe he was like Virgil and kept his name for the most part. 'The best tip I can give you, without you attending a couples session with your friends, would be that they should do it the same as you.'

'The same? I thought Brood couldn't shield.' Virgil texted curiously.

'Not as thoroughly as you or your Blood, but there's power along the bond. Especially if they have fresh venom. They wouldn't be protected from psychic or emotional attacks like you, but they could go about their day mostly unaware of you, say, harboring centuries of guilt.' Emile sent back. That bitch.

'Exactly how much did Roman tell you?' Virgil texted, feeling annoyed.

'Just because Roman isn't a client doesn't mean I won't keep our vent sessions private.' Emile texted back. Virgil groaned and smacked his head against his desk.

'great, fantastic, magical,,,' Virgil sent, tapping his foot furiously and scowling.

'Do you often use sarcasm to cope with stressful situations?' Emile replied.

'I'm rethinking that double date with Remy now' Virgil responded.

'All right, I'll drop it. Remy is very excited to punch you.' Emile texted back.

'Same. Do you have any hints for Remy's emoji code? I'm this close to cracking it.' Virgil sent back, changing the subject.

'The dancing girl is a mood but also a modifier.' Emile texted.

'I already knew that, Emmy. tell me about the wrench.' Virgil sent with an eye roll emoji.

'It means a problem or some kind of labor, usually.' Emile replied.

'Damn, more metaphors? Maybe I'm not that close to cracking it.' Virgil responded.

'Good luck, V.' Emile sent with a smiling emoji and a waving emoji.

Well, that was a _thing_ that happened. Virgil wasn't making an appointment with Emile unless Pat and Ro really struggled with shielding. Virgil got the distinct feeling that Emile was like a dog with a bone. And Virgil just really didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't a sad business recluse anymore, and that was plenty of progress for now.

It would still be light out for a few hours, but Virgil could invite Patton over early. He wasn't sure if they were available right away, but if they wanted to draw together tonight, they probably wanted to hang out, anyway. Virgil shot Patton a text and turned back to his computer to read some fiction.

Virgil only read a chapter when Patton sent a few celebration emojis and some arrows pointing up. They came knocking on Virgil's door a few minutes later, and it sounded a little like they were dancing in the hall behind the door. Virgil got up from the computer desk to let Patton in, feeling very amused and endeared.

"Virge!" Patton chirped and leaped into hug Virgil in a manner that could only be described as aggressive friendship. Virgil was surprised by the sudden hug attack and backed out of the doorway with Patton still clinging tight. "I missed you _so much_!" Patton nestled into Virgil's chest.

"I missed you too, Pat. Can I close the door?" Virgil asked, bewildered and bemused by Patton's clinginess. It had been hours, not days.

"Sure," Patton tittered, not letting Virgil go. Virgil rolled his eyes and used one arm to lift Patton and turned to close the door. "To the bed!" Patton cheered. Virgil chuckled and picked up Patton and carefully maneuvered the both of them into Virgil's loft. And it was a feat of angling and gravity alteration since Patton refused to let go. Patton wasn't afraid to use their strength for aggressive friendship.

"You want to learn how to use the telepathy and stuff or do something else until the sun sets?" Virgil asked, wrapping his arms around Patton, who finally let go slightly to readjust themselves to sit more comfortably on the loft.

"Teach me the _brain magic_!" Patton cheered.

"I'm glad you're enthusiastic, but it's better at first if you're calm," Virgil said with a little chuckle. Patton seemed to try to settle down by making an impassive face, but their cheeks puffed up a little with the effort and it made Virgil break out laughing.

"_Virge_," Patton whined and stuck out their lower lip.

"Sorry, sorry," Virgil said, still chuckling. Virgil took a deep breath and focused.

"How do you do that?" Patton asked curiously.

"Ages of practice, so I tortured my boyfriend less. Take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out slow and try not to focus on a specific emotion," Virgil supplied. Patton took a few tries but did settle down.

"I did it!" Patton said excitedly. "Whoops," Virgil broke out laughing again.

"You're just a bundle of emotions in a meat suit, _huh_," Virgil said.

"_Gross_, Virge," Patton grimaced and stuck out their tongue. Virgil and Patton both took a breath together and settled back down.

"Alright, this stuff is all about projection. I just want you to start by thinking about a shape and get it firmly in your head," Virgil instructed.

"Okay," Patton said with determination, squeezing their eyes shut.

"Don't try so hard, or you'll hurt yourself, hon," Virgil warned. Patton's face loosened.

"Now what?" Patton asked.

"You've got it solidly? I want you to mentally push it at me. Visualize it flying to me if it helps. Hit me in the head with your shape," Virgil said. Patton's mouth shifted around like they were mulling something over. "It's okay if it takes a while. Once you do it the first time, It'll open the path and be so much easier after that," Patton stiffed and loosened, almost going through a face journey in Virgil's arms. "Keep breathing _normally_, Pat," Virgil chided when Patton started breathing shallowly.

"This hurts my head," Patton groaned, opening their eyes and pouting at Virgil.

"Then you are trying too hard. Just picture yourself throwing something at me and it hitting me in the head or something. It doesn't have to be complex, it just has to connect," Virgil said softly.

"I don't want to imagine that!" Patton whined and chewed on their lip.

"It can be a pillow or shooting a water gun or something. I just need you to connect with me at a distance," Virgil explained consolingly, ruffling their hair a bit.

"Distances suck," Patton pouted again, pushing out their bottom lip and wobbling it dramatically.

"You're_ literally_ in my arms, Patton, the distance is mental. You just need to feel yourself, your object and me, and make me and the object connect. It's much easier than the other methods," Virgil offered, feeling a little exasperated but keeping even. He knew it was hard at first, but Patton was being a little melodramatic about it.

"What's the other methods?" Patton asked curiously, dropping the ridiculous pout for curiosity.

"Astral projecting or me forcefully opening it, which would hurt like hell," Virgil said. "I can't teach you how to project, and I'm not willing to force it open. Hit me in the head with a snowball or something. A ball of kisses. A tiny dragon. It doesn't matter as long as you feel the shape firmly in your head to connect yourself to it,"

'Unicorns!' Patton thought loudly.

'Pat, I flubbed my_ lines_! Why are you shouting about unicorns?' Roman thought back loudly.

"I think you pushed _too_ hard, Pat. If you project that hard Deceit and Roman can hear you too," Virgil said with a chuckle. "You opened the connection though. All you have to do now is just try to project the thought you're focusing on a little less,"

'Sorry, I'm just teaching them, and they were very enthusiastic as usual,' Virgil thought to Roman.

'_Yeesh_, it scared _the shit_ out of me,' Roman thought back.

'Daffodils?' Patton thought at Virgil, much quieter this time.

'Are lovely flowers,' Virgil thought at Patton. Patton screeched in excitement and wriggled excitedly in Virgil's arms. 'I'm not sure if he heard you, but why don't you apologize to D for the sudden thought of unicorns?' Patton laughed and looked up and to the side. A classic thinking face. It was adorable.

"No response," Patton said. Virgil hugged them close.

"He's probably just out of range. You'll have to text him first for him to reach out to you," Virgil said.

"How come I didn't have to connect with Roman or D for them to hear me?" Patton asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but it's basically because I'm the conduit. If I was somehow incapacitated, it'd stop working. You're thinking through me to him. I just won't hear unless you want me to," Virgil explained and stroked Patton's hair.

"Wow," Patton's eyes sparkled. "Wait!_ Hair_!" Patton shouted and raised up an arm suddenly, smacking Virgil in the face. Patton looked concerned and Virgil rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a half-smirk.

"What _about_ hair, Patton?" Virgil asked testily.

"You made Roman's red, right? I want to make mine pastel rainbow! It'd be too hard to do myself and my hair would get fried," Patton supplied.

"I think I would need a reference picture," Virgil said, a little confused. "You know it feels wrong, right?"

"I know, and it's a small price to pay for cool hair," Patton said firmly, with a little nod. They reached into their pocket and pulled out their phone. "Like this," They said, showing a photo to Virgil on their phone. It was dyed vertically across the hair, a side-swept style that was a few inches longer than Patton's short loose curls.

"Did you eat enough for me to grow your hair? Deceit says it makes him ravenous," Virgil asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You can grow my hair!?" Patton shouted with wide eyes. Virgil flinched back at the volume and Patton looked apologetic.

"Maybe?" Virgil supplied, shrugging. "If I picture that specifically, it might make your hair grow and I don't want to take the chance of you passing out,"

"Let me eat some pizza!" Patton said excitedly, sitting up and climbing down the ladder. They pulled the leftovers from lunch out of Roman's fridge with a little shimmy. Virgil chuckled at Patton looking eager as they extracted a piece from the box. "Even if it doesn't grow, I got more pizza, so it's a win-win," Patton smiled slyly.

"I can't argue with that logic," Virgil chuckled and sat back on his loft, watching Patton eat cold pizza a little faster than was probably safe. "Pat, it would be the worst turning story _in history_ if I had to Blood you because you _choked to death on pizza_," Virgil chided. Patton slowed down and turned to Virgil, looking a little pale. "Just slow down," Virgil rolled his eyes and motioned with his hand. Patton nodded and ate at a more reasonable pace.

Patton pulled out a sports drink from Roman's fridge while putting away the rest of the pizza leftovers. They climbed onto the bunk and sat expectantly in Virgil's lap with a bright expectant grin. Virgil sighed and placed his hand on Patton's head, raking his fingers through Patton's hair, trying to replicate the photo. Patton writhed uncomfortably in his arms and made a very sickened face.

'Holy shit, what the fuck is that?' Roman thought at Virgil as the last threads separated from his fingers.

'Um, sorry, Pat wanted their hair dyed. I didn't realize you'd be able to feel it,' Virgil apologized.

'Ugh, I feel like I got _digested by an eel_ or something. _Never_ do that without warning me again,' Roman thought at him, rather uncharitably.

'Fair. Sorry again,' Virgil thought sheepishly back at him.

"Okay, so Roman felt that so I think it's only fair to not do it again today, so I hope you like it. But it grew your hair," Virgil said, still feeling sheepish.

"Ugh, that really _is_ awful," Patton groaned. "My hair grew, though?" Patton asked hopefully and pulled out their phone. They checked their hair in the selfie camera and squealed in delight, though sounding a little tired. They opened the sports drink and chugged half of it after a second of admiring their hair. Then opened back up the camera and flipped the hair around some more, playing with the strands.

"Glad you like it," Virgil said jovially. "Do you want to work on shielding so we can maybe disturb Roman's rehearsal less?"

"Okay. Roman said it was something about separating the emotions, though, and it all feels muddled to me," Patton said, sounding less than optimistic. Virgil dropped his shield, and Patton's face settled into a soft smile.

"We can work on that. Roman's feeling determined. So you can just look up something that makes you sad. I'll do something that makes me happy. Anything you feel other than sad is me or Roman. And you just need to know what isn't you instead of knowing who's feeling what," Virgil offered.

"Why can't I look up_ happy_ things?" Patton pouted.

"Because happy and determined are like warm colors, so you need to be on the cool colors spectrum of the rainbow. You can do melancholy or scared if you like. It's easier to separate if it's opposite enough," Virgil explained. "We don't have to do this now,"

"No, I feel bad about bothering Roman _twice_…" Patton grumbled and trailed off.

"That's the spirit! Focus on that feeling. I'll just be proud of you," Virgil said with a smile. Patton was confused for a moment, but their face returned to dower and they raised their hand to their chest and seemed to consider something with their eyes closed. It was a little frustrating there was no way to guide Patton further without the basics. Virgil tried to keep his concern at bay and focus on being cheery while Patton carefully parsed out what feeling meant what. Virgil had to switch from proud to hopeful, his anxiety opposing him too much in his head.

"I think something changed that wasn't me?" Patton said, sounding confused.

"That was me. That's good. Are you getting it?" Virgil asked, his hopefulness being bolstered.

"I think so," Patton mumbled.

"Can you visualize your emotional energy as separate from the others?" Virgil guided them. Patton nodded and scrunched up their face again.

"Visualize a shield around yourself and your energy and force it like you forced out a unicorn," Virgil said, trying to guide them as Emile recommended. And then Virgil was rammed into the wall by an invisible force. He exhaled in surprise and looked around quickly for a moment.

"Holy _shit_, Pat," Virgil mumbled, pressed against the wall while Patton was balled up and concentrating.

"Hey, don't_ cuss_, Mister- Why'd you stop holding me?" Patton opened their eyes and looked in confusion at Virgil. "Why are you sitting weird like that?"

"I think you've got a _gift_," Virgil said, in awe, slacking as the force receded back into Patton. The confusion slowly morphed in to shock on their face.

"What?!" Patton cried in excitement after they realized what Virgil meant. "What is it? What did I do?"

"You've got a shield. Like a _literal_ one. You projected like a force field out of you," Virgil said, hugging Patton gently and rocking slightly with excitement.

"I thought you had to give me venom or whatever for that?" Patton said, bouncing excitedly in Virgil's arms.

"Well, you still have fresh venom in you and you're_ extremely blessed_, I suppose. That was faster than _Deceit_ even got his gift," Virgil offered, not entirely sure himself of how it happened.

"Well shoot, now how am I supposed to block off my emotions?" Patton asked, suddenly sobered.

"Um. This might have been another one of those '_you're thinking too hard_' things. And you need to do it passively instead of actively, maybe?" Virgil offered, still feeling thrown for a loop about the whole shield thing. He really only knew how to use his gift. He's heard of shield gifts before, but never how it's different to put up a mental shield instead of a physical one.

"Well, now all I feel is excitement," Patton said, sounding pretty cheery despite the disappointment.

"I can try to be sad when Roman finds out and assuredly gets jealous," Virgil offered facetiously.

"Oh, _no_! He's gonna be so _upset_!" Patton frowned. Then Patton must have realized the three moods were separate again and tried another time. Virgil braced himself for hitting the wall again, but it didn't come. Which is great, since Virgil really didn't want to have to explain to the college why there was a person-sized hole in his wall. Patton exhaled and looked around. Virgil didn't feel Patton at all anymore. It was like they were completely disconnected.

"Um, I think you have a mental shield better than mine, Pat, because I can't even find a strand of you," Virgil said, a little baffled. Patton bounced around again, cheering and whooping. Even choking a little and coughing they got so excited. "Pat, _breathe_!" Virgil said, holding them upright.

"I did it so fast!" Patton said after catching their breath.

"I guess you have a skill with shielding. Maybe that's why you got a gift for it?" Virgil supposed.

"Nuh-uh, it's because I want to protect my friends. I'm _sure_ of it," Patton said, beaming.

"Well, it's not like I could ask Hecate, so I'll defer to your judgment," Virgil shrugged and leaned back against the wall with Patton in his arms.

"You sounded like Logan for a moment," Patton giggled.

"So how does shielding _yourself_ protect your friends?" Virgil asked curiously, interested in Patton's reasoning. "And don't say human shield or I will go berserk," Virgil added angrily.

"Maybe if I can project it through the bond thing? I'd have to figure out the difference between you and Ro and you're both just so extra," Patton stuttered.

"Patton, there's no way you're not _at least_ as extra as me," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say I _wasn't_!" Patton laughed. Virgil could feel them bubble back up in his chest again. Patton sighed wearily. They must not be able to hold the shield long.

"Glass houses, Patton," Virgil warned playfully, pulling Patton up into a tighter embrace and rubbing his cheek against the top of their head.

'You two are an _emotional roller-coaster_ and I give up trying to rehearse anymore!' Roman thought loudly. 'See you in a few minutes,' He added mentally in frustration.

"Uh… _not it_," Virgil said, the concern heavy in his voice.

"I don't want to break his heart!" Patton whined.

"I want to break it just as much as you!" Virgil objected.

"You're the _alpha_-thing!" Patton stated.

"Come on, we just started dating, I won't be able to get the words out," Virgil groaned. "I'm already scared enough he'll change his mind!"

"I'm not lying to him," Patton pouted.

"Is a lie of omission really _that_ bad?" Virgil pleaded.

"Lying is _wrong_!" Patton crossed their arms and shook their head.

"Well, I think that means you're voting to tell him the truth," Virgil supplied. Patton made a shocked scoff and looked away. Patton never pulled out of his arms, though.

"Fine, but you're gonna hold him and put out calming vibes while I do it," Patton said grumpily.

"I will have to do a lot more than put out _calming vibes_," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"You'll _make out_ with him if you have to!" Patton said angrily.

"That's kind of… _manipulative_, isn't it? More than just helping him to keep calm?" Virgil asked, feeling kind of weird about the suggestion.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Patton mumbled. "I just don't want him to _hate_ me,"

"I don't think he'll hate you, Pat," Virgil offered in solace. "We'll find out soon, though, I can feel him nearby," Virgil added, his voice heavy with concern. Patton stiffened and swallowed. Roman came through the door a few tense minutes later.

"Okay, now you two are feeling all weird and conflicted, what's the with emotional madness and how do I stop it?" Roman asked, walking over to his desk and pulling the camera out of his bag. He hooked it up to his laptop and looked over to them when neither answered. "Hello?" Roman asked, waving his hand at them.

"We're having unshielded cuddles time if you want to join us, pal," Patton offered hopefully.

"You're both acting weird," Roman said, raising his eyebrow, walking over to climb up with them.

"We're both a little worried about your reaction," Virgil supplied. Roman climbed up and Patton scooted out of Virgil's lap to let Roman take their place.

"I can't react until you tell me whatever the big deal is," Roman rolled his eyes, and Virgil wrapped his arms around Roman. Patton leaned up against them both nervously and smiled weakly to Roman. Roman just raised his eyebrow at them.

"I've got a shield," Patton said quietly.

"Like Virgil's?" Roman asked for clarification.

"No, it's my own," Patton explained.

"I thought humans couldn't shield like vampires can," Roman said.

"Emile says you can, though it's not exactly the same," Virgil supplied. "But Patton's talking about something different,"

"What? But that would- I mean… Oh," Roman sounded confused and upset.

"I'm _so_ sorry, kiddo," Patton said remorsefully. "Do you need me to _leave_?" Patton asked mournfully.

"No. No! I- It's _fine_, Pat. It's not like you got any say in it. I'm not mad at you," Roman said, feeling stiff in Virgil's arms. Patton exhaled in relief and Virgil continued to stare at Roman in his arms. "I'm not mad at you _either_, you drama queen," Roman said, sounding a little sour but not angry. "Have you two been pulling a _Virgil_ and freaking out over my reaction this whole time?" Roman relaxed in Virgil's arms and even smiled.

"Hey," Virgil objected. But it was fair. "Maybe," Virgil admitted quietly.

"You two are idiots, I'm not going to hate you because I'm jealous. What kind of man do you take me _for_?" Roman explained, sounding a little affronted.

"I guess I_ did_ pull a Virgil," Patton mumbled.

"_Hey_," Virgil objected again. "I don't like my name being used as an adjective," Roman reached up and ruffled Virgil's hair.

"Then stop _acting_ like one. I love the new hair, Pat," Roman said and ran his fingers through Patton's new colorful locks. "Is it longer?"

"Yes, Virge can grow hair, too. It takes a lot out of you, though,_ oof_," Patton said, sounding more upbeat than before.

"Does that mean you can grow out your hair if you want to wear it longer?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, I used to wear it very long in the past. I've mostly kept it shorter this century, though. My hair doesn't grow otherwise," Virgil answered, still feeling a little unnerved, and his voice was somewhat shaken sounding still. Roman gave Virgil a lopsided smile and sat up to kiss Virgil on the lips.

"Quit worrying about it. Pat's lucky, but I'll have my time to shine," Roman said gently. Patton's heart jumped next to Virgil.

"Thanks. You know I can't help it," Virgil mumbled.

"If I could help it we'd all have cool powers and you wouldn't be a sad-sack anymore," Roman said playfully. Virgil pouted a little.

"Virge isn't a sad-sack," Patton pouted with Virgil.

"You're right, Virge is a sad-_sedan_. This bad boy can fit so many _centuries of sorrow_," Roman said, patting Virgil on the head.

"Oh, my_ Hecate_. You did_ not_," Virgil laughed boisterously.

"If my darling must speak the language of memes, then it is a language I must learn," Roman said cheerfully. "Whatever an immortal vampire is doing being a meme lord, I will _never_ understand,"

"He was probably_ bored_ and _lonely_, like every other meme lord," Patton said with a little smirk.

"Darling, I think you just got roasted by _Patton_ of all people," Roman said and kissed Virgil's cheek. Virgil groaned and flushed slightly.

"I've been hiding for centuries, you'd think I'd be less transparent by now," Virgil lamented. Patton patted Virgil's shoulder affectionately. "What do you say I order some _real_ nutrients for you two and then we can head out to sketch that sculpture when the sun's set?"

"We have plenty of pizza," Patton objected.

"And you grew 2 inches of hair and are surely replete of essential vitamins that cheese pizza most certainly does not have," Virgil reminded them.

"Oh, I heard about this place that has killer bhudda bowls with seared salmon, let's get that. It's supposed to be, like, enough nutrition for the entire day," Roman suggested. "There's a guy in the practice hall who orders that before locking himself in a room until they kick him out. He says they're delicious, and he doesn't feel the need to eat for hours after," Roman said with piqued interest. Patton sighed and nodded.

"That _does_ sound nutritious," Patton conceded. Virgil smirked and pulled out his phone to go order them.


	26. Flaws

Virgil tapped away at his laptop, writing an English paper. They were all working on homework together in a study room at the library. Logan suggested it, and it seemed like a very nice compromise between spending time together and actually doing their job as students. Virgil had plenty of time to work, but Patton was struggling a bit in psychology, and Roman had fallen back because of all the time he was practicing his parts. They shared the subject and could help each other, which was nice considering Virgil's psychology schooling was pretty out of date and he couldn't help much outside of the history portion. It looked like Logan was writing a history paper based on the books he had stacked next to his laptop for references and citations.

The room was on the small side, which made Virgil uncomfortable, but Virgil sat next to the door, and Roman would periodically put his hand on Virgil's arm or leg and that calmed him down for the most part. Roman was probably just being affectionate, but maybe he caught Virgil's glances at the doorway. Outside of the size of the room, though, it was very nice to just quietly work together. Virgil had read this story a million times and wasn't a fan of writing another essay examining themes and symbolism on it. Especially since it was about community-mandated murder. But he could write it with minor effort on his part. It was just annoying.

If Logan and Virgil weren't writing essays they probably would hold hands or something. Logan seemed to like doing it. Virgil couldn't understand why a human would want to hold an ice cube, but he wasn't complaining. Logan explained he didn't always like contact and it was better to let Logan initiate or offer first. It sort of seemed like he'd be interested right now since sometimes he leaned towards Virgil while flipping through a book. Either way, Virgil was pretty happy. He enjoyed talking to Logan more than anything, so it didn't bother him too much that Logan needed his space sometimes. Not that he didn't very much enjoy kissing him. But in general, Patton and Roman were hanging off of Virgil any time Virgil dropped his shield, so he was pretty satisfied with the amount of contact he got these days. Virgil looked up from his laptop and met eyes with Roman. Roman shot a glance between Logan and Virgil and looked curiously back to Virgil. Virgil raised his eyebrow in confusion, trying to figure out what he was trying to communicate.

'Are you going to tell him or what?' Roman asked Virgil telepathically, looking pointedly at Logan again.

'About the vampire thing? I don't think he'd believe me if I tried. Why bother?' Virgil thought back with a minuscule shrug.

'I dunno, it seems _dishonest_ to have him be literally the only person in the room who doesn't know,' Roman thought, motioning to the room with his highlighter.

'If he doesn't want to know, I won't force it on him. Some people aren't comfortable with the supernatural,' Virgil replied mentally. 'I at least need to get his opinion on that, first,' Virgil motioned with his hand to try to express his priorities.

'What are you guys thinking about?' Patton thought, looking curiously to the two of them. Virgil hadn't realized they had looked up from their textbook.

'I think Virgil should tell Logan,' Roman thought, eying Logan again and looking critically to Virgil.

'Tell him he's a vampire?' Patton asked mentally, looking a little lost.

'Yeah. They're dating. It just doesn't seem right,' Roman thought, furrowing his eyebrows.

'It's not like you learn everything about somebody as soon as you start dating. It hasn't been that long. Everybody's got baggage,' Virgil rolled his eyes. This was a little extra.

'No, I think Ro's right,' Patton thought, looking concerned.

'I don't want to force it on him. He gets a choice on this, too,' Virgil chided them mentally.

'I think you're just trying to avoid something hard,' Patton looked critically at Virgil, too.

'No, he's doing that with _you_,' Roman smirked impishly_._

'Roman, you want to come up to the roof with me to see if you _bounce_?' Virgil thought warningly and glowered at Roman.

'What _are_ you avoiding with me, Virge?' Patton looked at Virgil a little sourly.

'Yeah, Virge, what are you not telling them?' Roman leaned forward and smiled roguishly at Virgil.

'We're studying, you gobermouch, do we really have to do this _now_?' Virgil crossed his arms and tapped impatiently on his jacket. Roman and Patton just stared at Virgil in bafflement for a moment.

'Did I have a stroke? Was that even English?' Roman raised his eyebrow.

'Fine. Patton, I think your job makes it too hard to keep up with school. School is important. If you want to quit the craft store, I'd pay you more than they do. You're part of my clan and entitled to the resources we have,' Virgil huffed, looking at Patton imploringly. Patton looked surprised, considerate, and then angry. Well, shit.

"I understand that I am not the best at social cues, but it is odd that you two are glaring at each other with no words exchanged," Logan pointed out, looking up from his laptop.

"Patton thinks I should tell you I'm a vampire and I want to give Patton money they don't seem to want," Virgil said flippantly, waving his hand. Roman looked shocked.

"This vampire joke again? It's very odd, Patton. If Patton doesn't want the money, don't give it to them. I don't understand why it is these things are being treated so critically," Logan suggested and looked oddly between Patton and Virgil.

"Thanks, Logan, you're right. It doesn't have to be a big deal. I would appreciate it if Patton would consider it, but I don't like _forcing things on people_, so I understand if you won't take it. The best I can do is make the _resources available_ and see if anyone is willing to take them. I will just be honest," Virgil said, hoping Patton understands his meaning. Patton frowned at him, but they didn't look angry. 'Told you,' He thought to Roman. Roman huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically. Patton looked sad for a moment longer, but smiled and nodded eventually. Virgil felt relieved.

"Okay. Sorry for distracting you, Lo," Patton apologized quietly.

"We are here together, I'm happy to discuss things with you," Logan smiled. Patton smiled much brighter after that and looked back down. They went back to studying in silence, but Roman was tapping his fingers on his thighs and watching Logan rather than getting back to studying.

'You know, I'd love to see how far his disbelief goes,' Roman thought. Patton looked up from their book in surprise.

'I'm pretty curious myself,' Virgil smirked mischievously.

'Roller coaster,' Roman thought empathetically. 'It _destroyed _me,'

'Don't be mean to him,' Patton chided them.

'I'm not going to do that. I shouldn't have even done that to you, Ro. I'm just wondering how far he can rationalize things,' Virgil shrugged, uncrossing his arms.

'That doesn't seem in good spirits,' Patton frowned.

'Of course it's friendly, Pat! It's not even at his expense. Obviously, it's fine if he knows, so why not just make it a little easier to connect the dots?' Roman motioned with his head toward Logan.

'Well, that doesn't sound bad when you say it like that,' Patton admitted. 'Just don't pick on him,'

'Why would I want to pick on my boyfriend?' Virgil rolled his eyes. 'That's such a dick move. I _like_ him,' Virgil pulled a partial frown. 'I'm just thinking that maybe there's not much of a point of hiding anything,' Virgil raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

'You want to make bets on what makes him question if it's really a joke or not?' Roman wiggled his eyebrow temptingly.

'$500 bucks it's something drastic. He's pretty logical to a fault,' Virgil smirked to Roman, who smiled back playfully.

'This is leaning back into not-in-good-spirits territory,' Patton frowned. Virgil paused and considered for a moment.

'Pat's probably right. Thanks for being my good sense,' Virgil sighed and shot an appreciative smile to Patton. 'I still think he's stubborn, though. I seem to like stubborn people,' Virgil chuckled quietly and shook his head, trying to focus on writing again.

'Hey,' Roman thought somewhat indignantly.

'You are a little stubborn, Ro,' Patton looked sheepishly at Roman.

'_Hey_,' Roman crossed his arms.

'And I love that about you,' Virgil shot Roman a smile and Roman softened slightly.

'Fine,' Roman huffed, not sounding completely satisfied. Virgil would just have to make it up to Roman later. 'I guess we should get back to work, huh, Pat?'

'Yeah,' Patton thought, a little despondently.

'I'll get you guys ice cream or something if you can catch up, how about that?' Virgil offered, trying to lift their moods.

'Okay!' Patton beamed at the idea.

'It's something to look forward too, I guess,' Roman frowned slightly, but nodded.

"You want to get ice cream when we're done, Logan? There's a gelato place in walking distance with great ratings," Virgil asked smoothly.

"Are you trying to motivate Patton?" Logan smirked at Virgil.

"That, too," Virgil smiled back.

"Ice cream is delicious!" Patton pouted.

"Nuh-uh, Patton, this is _gelato_. This is better," Roman said, tutting and shaking his finger.

"Why is it better?" Patton asked curiously.

"It's Italian?" Roman shrugged, not sounding sure himself.

"Gelato is lower in calories, fat content, and has a silkier texture than ice cream. Flavor profiles are subjective, however," Logan provided.

"Yeah, that," Roman motioned to Logan. "I've heard about it, they also have espresso," Roman winked to Virgil.

"Oh, I wasn't aware," Virgil rubbed his hands together in delight.

"I suppose that means Virgil is motivated now, too," Patton giggled.

"I have written multiple essays on the stupid short story, I needed it. There's a limited amount of ways to rephrase the stupid symbolism to not plagiarize myself," Virgil grunted and dourly looked back to his laptop.

"Did you take advanced English in high school?" Logan asked curiously.

"I've just already taken this class elsewhere," Virgil shrugged, shooting a look at Roman. The corner of Roman's mouth twitched upward.

"The credits would not transfer?" Logan asked, sounding disappointed.

"Nope," Virgil popped the 'p' and Roman snickered slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear about the redundant material. Hopefully, the latter semesters will be more interesting," Logan said with a small nod.

"Thanks," Virgil smiled, holding out his hand. Logan took it curiously and Virgil pulled it up to kiss his knuckles. Virgil was rewarded with slowly spreading blush before letting go of his hand and getting back to work. Roman stuck out his tongue just above Virgil's laptop screen and Virgil chuckled, finding Roman's leg under the table to hold contact with him. Roman smiled slightly and Virgil got back to work.

—

"Oh my gosh, gelato is _so good_!" Patton squeaked, excitedly eating another tiny spoonful of their vanilla, cheesecake, and chocolate gelato. They sat on the covered patio outside the gelato shop, taking up the sole table outside. They were alone other than brief passers-by, which was pleasant. The sun was still in the process of setting, so it washed everything with orange-red light. Virgil tried his best to stay hidden in his hoodie and in the awning's shade.

"The espresso is pretty nice, too," Virgil smiled, taking another sip. The steam from the espresso fogged up his sunglasses.

"They just pulled that espresso shot, Virgil. Isn't it too hot to imbibe?" Logan asked, sounding concerned.

"High heat tolerance," Virgil shrugged. "It doesn't feel too hot," Roman snickered and took another bite of his dark chocolate, pistachio, and strawberry gelato. "Aren't those _weird_ together, Ro?" Virgil asked, looking at the disturbingly green gelato.

"No, it's good, your tongue is just made for black coffee," Roman smiled. "How were the gelato bites, Logan?"

"Very satisfactory," Logan smiled widely.

"Do you have a bit of a sweet tooth you've been hiding?" Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"No," Logan's ears turned slightly pink.

"Hey, I can't judge for that. Have you ever seen me have anything but black coffee?" Virgil chuckled and offered in solidarity.

"I- no, actually. _No_, I haven't," Logan sounded surprised. "I worry for your teeth enamel," Logan laughed slightly, but his lips pulled into a slight frown.

"My enamel is fine," Virgil smiled widely, not bothering to hide his fangs.

"Yes, your teeth look very healthy. I do not even see coffee staining. Do you have veneers? You have extremely long canines and sharp teeth," Logan observed Virgil's fangs.

"I'm going to go with _no_, since I don't even know what that is. These are what I was born with," Virgil chuckled.

"Are his teeth why you call Virgil a vampire, Patton?" Logan asked as he curiously examined Virgil's fangs. Roman nearly sputtered on his gelato and covered his mouth, giggling wildly.

"Uh, yeah, that's part of it!" Patton said awkwardly, running their hand through their hair nervously.

"What the other part?" Logan looked to Patton, and Virgil leaned forward, very interested in what Patton had to say.

"His temperature and the whole blood-drinking thing," Patton shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but was clearly stressed by the situation.

"Coffee bean harvesting practices can be inhumane, but calling it blood is very… _extra_," Logan chuckled slightly, looking proud of himself.

"_Mmm_, blood," Virgil muttered, taking another drink of espresso. Roman choked on his gelato and Patton patted his back very quickly, looking panicked. "Pat's talking about the fridge full of blood in my dorm, though," Virgil looked to make sure Roman was all right, but after a cough or two Roman just looked incredibly bemused, putting his hand on his chest to breathe deeply. Patton sighed in relief.

"Why on earth would you have a refrigerator full of blood, Virgil?" Logan asked incredulously.

"Drinkin', of course," Virgil shrugged. Roman chuckled and shook his head disbelievingly, still catching his breath.

"Is this some gothic thing I am not aware of?" Logan asked, still sounding baffled.

"Actually, I think blood bars for goths used to be a thing until they were shut down for obvious health reasons," Roman offered. "I've heard of it anyway,"

"I think those were just a myth perpetuated by the one vampire show," Patton said, sounding unsure.

"Can you use your roller coaster powers on anything other than just you?" Roman asked curiously, motioning to Virgil.

"No, it's just me," Virgil shook his head. "I'd totally make my coffee float if I could. I always wanted to try drinking like an astronaut can in zero gravity," Virgil leaned forward on his elbow and swished the espresso around in his cup.

"Oh, that would be so _cool_!" Patton chirped, playfully holding their little gelato spoon up in front of them and eating it as if it was free-floating. Virgil couldn't help but grin at the adorableness. Even Logan was mesmerized in watching them and turned red when Patton smiled at him.

"What about your gift? You've never mentioned what it was before," Roman asked, turning from watching Patton's cute display to lean back and look towards Virgil.

"Hm, it's not that obvious, visually. I wouldn't do it, anyway," Virgil said dismissively, flipping his hand slightly.

"If this is an extended joke at my expense, I do not appreciate it," Logan frowned.

"I wouldn't make you the butt of a joke, Logan. That would be awful. You're just opting to stay out of a loop we're trying to let you in on," Virgil held out his hand for Logan to take, but Logan shook his head, still looking upset.

"Oh, oh, let's invite Deceit!" Patton blurted out excitedly. "His gift could convince him," They added with a sly smile.

"I still think Virgil should just do the roller coaster thing," Roman insisted. "It convinced me right away,"

"Ro, we're sitting on a gelato shop patio, use your brain for once," Roman huffed an offended breath through his nose. "I'm still not positive if this is something he wants," Virgil rolled his eyes. Patton pulled out their phone.

"What is something that I may or may not want?" Logan asked, sounding equally upset and intrigued.

"Knowing the _actual_ size of the world around you," Virgil said, sipping his coffee again.

"The earth is 6.6 sextillion tons," Logan said resolutely.

"Wow, it is? That's cool. I can't really picture that," Roman said, leaning back and lazily eating his gelato.

"D said he would come to hang out with us!" Patton announced cheerily.

"Really? He never responded when I asked, I was worried he was still mad at me," Virgil muttered, feeling relieved.

"That's your other boyfriend, correct?" Logan asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's so great. If you like sass, sarcasm, and being over-the-top, anyway," Virgil said dreamily.

"I think he was just interested in _annoying_ you," Patton said, looking down at their phone with an odd expression.

"That's completely normal," Virgil laughed affectionately.

"What about your gift, Pat? You are gelato powered right now, you could probably pull it off," Roman suggested.

"I can only do it for a few seconds," Patton muttered nervously, wringing their hands.

"What are you implying Patton can do?" Logan asked, examining Patton curiously.

"Patton can make a shield," Roman said, motioning to them as if he were a showgirl showcasing a prize.

"If you want to show off, I doubt there's any harm in it," Virgil sipped his coffee. Virgil checked the skyline to see how far the sun has set to judge how much time they had before Deceit could start flitting there.

"Please don't gloss over the supposition that Patton can make a shield. I would like to know what that means," Logan said.

"Put your hand on Patton and they can show you," Roman motioned to Patton with a big cheesy smile.

"If you don't want to touch me, you can just hover your hand nearby," Patton said, standing up out of their chair and moving it out of the way, staying just clear of the table. Logan stood up and held out his hand, hovering it close to Patton. Patton scrunched their face and focused, and Logan's hand was pushed away. Patton exhaled, sounding strained. Virgil would be worried about the public display of powers if it didn't just look like Logan pulled his hand back to any curious onlookers.

"What an amazing magic trick," Logan said, looking at his hand. Roman laughed and finished off his ice cream. Logan sat back down, looking mystified.

"I bet you want seconds after that. You want more coffee, Virge?" Roman asked, getting up from his chair as Patton sat back down with a sigh.

"Yeah, thanks Ro," Virgil smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Do you want a different flavor, Pat?" Roman asked and pushed his chair in.

"I want that gelato milkshake with the dark chocolate and hazelnut," Patton replied, finishing their cup of gelato with a few scrapes against the side.

"You want seconds, Logan?" Roman paused before heading back inside to see if Logan wanted anything.

"No, thank you," Logan nodded. Roman went inside. "How did you do that, Patton?" Logan asked, looking between his hand and Patton's tired-looking face.

"It's hard and takes a lot of focus," Patton leaned back. "Come sit next to me. Please, V?" Patton asked, Patting Roman's abandoned seat. Virgil switched seats for Patton. Patton leaned against Virgil and closed their eyes as soon as Virgil sat down.

"Good thing we're getting you more food," Virgil chuckled slightly. "I don't know if you'd make the walk back without it," He mused, reaching up to play with Patton's hair for a second.

"I'm demanding a piggyback ride, either way," Patton crossed their arms and nodded, still leaning tiredly against Virgil.

"I'm fine with that if my wonderful boyfriend is," Virgil shrugged.

"If Patton requires assistance, back I would not be opposed to you helping them," Logan said, possibly still trying to figure out the magic trick, because he was very distracted and checking his own hand.

"Hey, seat thief," Roman grumbled as he came back with the milkshake for Patton and another espresso for Virgil. Patton pouted intensely at Roman. "Fine, I don't need it, anyway. Are you ready to head back?" Roman huffed, but his annoyance melted away quickly at Patton's expression.

"I am. I hope you explain to me how you did that trick sometime," Logan asked in wonderment, getting up from the table.

"Only Patton can do that, sadly," Roman sighed. Virgil got up and squatted down, and Patton leaned forward on his back. Virgil picked them up and did the rest of the work, turning around to let Patton grab their milkshake off the table and they took off back to the dorms. Roman held on to Virgil's espresso for him while Virgil carried Patton.

"I would still be interested in learning the mechanics," Logan said, sounding intrigued.

"So would modern science, probably," Virgil joked airily. "Do you have time to meet D?" He asked Logan hopefully.

"I have finished my homework for now and am mostly caught up in my studies, I can spare some more of the evening," Logan said, walking alongside Virgil. The sun had gotten low enough as they ate gelato and Virgil was free to walk around without gearing up, which he was very thankful for. Keeping his hands covered while carrying Patton would have been a pain in the ass. Hopefully, that meant that Deceit was on his way, too. Virgil missed him a lot.

"Drop your shield," Patton whined.

"You should know I couldn't drop my shield outside if I wanted, don't you remember that knot Roman talked about?" Virgil groaned.

"I've named it Balthazar," Roman chirped, sniffing Virgil's coffee through the small mouthpiece.

"_Okay_," Virgil drawled in bafflement, but just rolled with it. "_Balthazar_ says the outside isn't safe, so I can't drop it," Virgil supplied.

"I am proverbially lost once again," Logan said, sounding annoyed.

"Logan, how do you feel about the supernatural?" Virgil asked plaintively.

"It is an interesting _story_," Logan responded, sounding vexed and confused.

"How would you feel if the supernatural was real?" Virgil continued questioning him.

"That is not realistic, I don't need to consider that," Logan said. "Is this line of inquiry supposed to elucidate me in some way?"

"Yeah. Just, for the sake of argument, think about how you would feel about some supernatural things being real," Roman said, flipping around his free hand and looking like he was considering drinking Virgil's espresso. He better not be.

"Roman, the sun is down and you're already up way too late for your morning classes, don't you dare," Virgil hissed in objection.

"Fine! Fine! You don't have to bite my head off," Roman huffed. "It just smells good is all,"

"_One_ sip," Virgil said, holding out a single finger. Roman smirked and took a drink.

"Hot," Roman held out his tongue.

"Idiot," Virgil chuckled.

"Are you okay, Roman? Here, have some of my milkshake, it'll cool down your tongue," Patton passed Roman their milkshake. Roman took it and sipped gratefully.

"That is unsanitary, Patton," Logan looked a little disgusted as Roman passed Patton's milkshake back.

"It's fine if it's Ro. Did you consider what Roman said?" Patton looked hopefully at Logan.

"It would be very interesting despite the implications being concerning," Logan admitted, sounding a little frustrated.

"Would you care to _extrapolate_ on the concerning implications?" Virgil asked plainly.

"Oh my _god_, you're such a nerd," Roman rolled his eyes at Virgil.

"You're both sugared up and wild. Let the man think," Virgil chuckled.

"I don't like the concept that there are certain things are simply outside of human understanding," Logan said after a moment of consideration.

"Well, that's a tough one. But would you open to the possibility despite the drawbacks?" Virgil asked gently.

"I… suppose. But this is a silly thing to consider," Logan insisted.

"It's just friendly conversation, Logan. The _silliness_ can be for the sake of recreation or whatever. I don't speak nerd as fluently as Virgil," Roman flipped his fingers dismissively.

"I suppose that's fair. I'd be very interested to meet extraterrestrial life," Logan said brightly, looking much more upbeat.

"What about terrestrial but still _extra_?" Roman asked, tittering. Virgil shot Roman a look of annoyance. Even if it was accurate, it was a little rude. One of those 'just me next time' kind of feelings. Roman stuck his tongue out at Virgil, looking very proud of himself.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Logan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Non-human species on earth," Virgil clarified.

"Who are dramatic and wear too much fake makeup," Roman smirked. Okay, Virgil wasn't sure if this was better or worse.

"I resent that, Princey. I may be a kettle but the _pot_ shouldn't throw stones in glass houses," Virgil glowered at Roman.

"I, uh, that's too many metaphors, Virge. I have absolutely no idea what you just said," Patton said, a little flustered.

"Mood," Roman said, nodding in agreement.

"You're too dramatic to be calling_ me_ dramatic," Virgil frowned.

"Boys, boys, you're _both_ dramatic," Patton said patronizingly and patted Virgil's head. Virgil sighed theatrically, perfectly aware of the irony. Roman tittered behind his hand at that.

"So you don't object to me saying you wear too much makeup?" Roman continued to laugh at Virgil.

"It's the style," Virgil shrugged as much as he could manage with Patton on his back. Patton giggled at the bump.

"I _like_ Virgil's makeup," Logan said, surprising Virgil. "His makeup aside, though, I think it could be educational to meet non-human species. I would love to study them," Logan said. "I also agree that you both have had too much sugar," He added, sounding a little amused by it. Patton giggled and took a long sip of milkshake.

"Cool. Vampires are real," Virgil said matter-of-factly. Roman spat out something next to him. Damn it, was that fucker stealing his espresso again? He will never get to sleep. Virgil sighed deeply and shot Roman a glare. Roman grinned brightly back at him, making an innocent face. That bitch.

"This again? Honestly, it's getting old. I thought this was a discussion for entertainment purposes," Logan made a face.

"It can be two things!" Patton said cheerily. "Are werewolves real?"

"Yes, and they're assholes," Virgil groaned, remembering some unpleasant interactions with them.

"I'm pretty certain that's racist, Virge," Roman snickered.

"Fine, the limited number of werewolves I've met are assholes in that they picked fights I didn't want to engage in. They're just as territorial as vampires," Virgil amended his statement. "There's no stupid twilight rivalry or anything, it's just territory nonsense. There's a reason I don't set one," The annoyance with them continued to leak out in his voice despite trying to stay neutral.

"D mentioned mermaids, are those real?" Roman asked excitedly.

"Yes, but they don't look anything like Ariel. There's one I met in France that really knew how to jam," Virgil answered this one much more jauntily. He was a fan of merpeople.

"When were you in France?" Logan asked incredulously.

"Mid-1800s? I was with D at the time," Virgil said, looking up and trying to remember specifics, but he couldn't. He shook his head slightly as he gave up.

"And danced the paso doble with him," Roman snickered behind his hand. Virgil shot Roman a look, but he put up the innocent face again. Virgil could only diagnose him with too much texting with D combined with espresso. Or maybe he's just feeling like being a bastard today, which was a mood.

"You have to let me see!" Patton said, bouncing slightly in Virgil's arms.

"Pat, be careful, I don't want to drop you," Virgil hissed and held Patton tighter.

"You won't drop me," Patton wrapped their arms around Virgil's neck, putting their milkshake right next to his face.

"I don't have a dress for it," Virgil said dismissively. "And I'm not hand-sewing one again, I continue to be thankful for electricity," Virgil groaned.

"Then we'll go _shopping_," Roman smirked and held up an arm as he suggested.

"I regret ever suggesting gelato," Virgil rolled his eyes and huffed at the sugared-up idiots.

"No, you don't," Patton grinned against Virgil's ear and nestled their head into his neck.

"No, I don't," Virgil laughed in agreement. It was nice to see them so happy, even if he and Logan were slightly distressed with their nonsense.

"You are very _creative_, Virgil," Logan said dismissively.

"Thanks?" Virgil raised his eyebrow. Virgil couldn't blame him for needing more proof. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, but Virgil was already in it and may as well finish the job. The delightful and telltale thrum of reconnecting with Deceit hit as they continued their trek back to the dorms.

"D's near!" Patton cheered, jumping again. Virgil flinched from the sudden high volume declaration.

"Pat, you're right next to my ear," Virgil hissed, wishing he could reach up to rub his ear.

"Sorry!" Patton whispered apologetically and squeezed Virgil lightly. Virgil rolled his eyes. This was all getting ridiculous.


	27. Paper Wings

Virgil waved to Deceit when he saw him down the hall, beaming delightedly. He was dressed up like a rich guy from the 20s again. He looked great in the black cane, hat, gloves, and a 3 piece suit. Did he wear this stuff to court or something? It was hot, but Deceit definitely looked out of place in college dorms, where if people were in a clean shirt it was considered dressing nice. Deceit raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, looking bemused.

"Pat, can I put you down and greet my beloved?" Virgil asked. Patton nodded and Virgil bent his knees and lowered Patton down carefully. As soon as Patton was clear, he hurried down the hall and right into Deceit's arms. Virgil wrapped his arms around him and hummed in delight.

"Darling, you look tired," Deceit cooed, kissing Virgil on the cheek.

"I unintentionally got them sugared up," Virgil rolled his eyes. "It's so good to see you. _Please _consider staying the night. I miss you so much," Virgil leaned his head against Deceit's affectionately and held on to his waist.

"Absolutely no funny business in the dorm," Roman demanded, walking up to them and moving past to unlock their dorm room door with a little huff.

"On one of those tiny lofts? Please, we're not animals," Deceit rolled his eyes and motioned towards the lofts with disgust. "It's _nice_ to see you to, Roman," Deceit added derisively.

"Charmed, I'm _sure_," Roman said, just as sarcastically, and opened the door. He bowed, motioning for everyone to go in.

"Is the prim and proper gentleman in the know yet?" Deceit asked, pointing to Logan and separating from Virgil's arms to walk into the dorm.

"We're trying to put him in the know, but he's stubborn," Roman rolled his eyes. Everyone else filed into the Dorm after them.

"Please do not talk about me like I am not here," Logan huffed. Virgil sighed and let Deceit go, walking up to Logan and holding out his hands. Logan took them carefully. Roman closed up the dorm room door behind everybody.

"I'm sorry. You're here with us physically, but we're trying to catch you up intellectually," Virgil said gently. "Roman and Patton think you deserve to be in the loop as my boyfriend. You said you were interested in the possibility. Hi, I'm a vampire and I'm not just making things up," Virgil explained carefully, speaking slowly and trying to maintain a neutral tone.

"He still doesn't believe you," Deceit said flippantly, spinning his cane as he leaned against the loft frame.

"There's no such thing as vampires," Logan repeated, sounding very annoyed.

"You could probably bite him and he'd rationalize the change," Roman rolled his eyes, crawling up into Virgil's loft with Patton right behind him.

"Isn't that a _delightful_ idea," Deceit purred.

"Roman," Virgil huffed angrily. "Consent,"

"Oh, that's something you could do. What's Logan's blood type?" Roman suggested, probably recalling the whole debacle when they went clubbing.

"That's an oddly personal question," Logan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you mind if I tell you?" Virgil asked, holding up one of Logan's hands.

"Go ahead, I suppose," Logan said. Virgil sniffed at Logan's wrist carefully.

"O-negative," Virgil supplied. It smelled a little off, though.

"Yes, I am a universal donor, but I have mild anemia and can't give blood often. Statistically, you should have guessed O-positive. Why did you guess O-negative?" Logan furrowed his eyebrows at Virgil. Ah, anemia explains the strangeness of his blood's smell.

"I didn't guess, I can smell it," Virgil said, lowering Logan's wrist.

"He still doesn't believe you," Deceit chimed in, he had climbed up on to the loft and was laying across the edge of the bed and watching.

"How exactly did we end up with a peanut gallery?" Virgil looked up to them with a grimace.

"Don't mind me, I'm just one of those people who can't look away from a train wreck," Deceit had a cheshire grin, holding his head upon his arm and swinging his cane lazily off the edge. Virgil narrowed his eyes at him. Deceit better not get any roofing tar on Virgil's sheets. Deceit lifted an eyebrow but still looked amused nonetheless.

"Your guess was surprisingly accurate, but I'm becoming worried about your mental health," Logan said, sounding concerned.

"Do the roller coaster thing!" Roman cheered from the loft.

"It was a terrible idea when I did it for you and it's a terrible idea now," Virgil rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for doing it in the first place,"

"D, _you_ do the roller coaster thing, then," Roman prodded him, looking extremely hyped up about it.

"What in the _world_ are you talking about?" Deceit rolled his eyes and frowned, shooting a quizzical expression at Roman.

"Turned can't do it, Deceit only has enough capability to flit," Virgil explained and Deceit huffed sourly. Honestly, it was still kind of a sore spot with them, so Virgil couldn't blame him for the annoyed grimace, especially since Virgil was likely mirroring him.

"Well, that's bullshit," Roman huffed and crossed his arms.

"Roman!" Patton shot angrily, pushing him on the loft.

"What, it _is_!" Roman blurted out defensively and motioned widely at Deceit.

"I don't like that language whether or not it is!" Patton pouted sourly, leaning back up against Roman with a pout.

"I'm very glad you invited me, Patton," Deceit smirked, not looking away from Virgil and Logan. "I wish I had some peanuts to throw, even," Virgil let go of one of Logan's hands and rubbed his face in exasperation.

"What exactly counts as proof, then, Logan? I'm really trying here," Virgil asked, trying to ignore the idiots on his loft.

"Drinking blood, I suppose," Logan said, seemingly baffled. Virgil squeezed Logan's hand in an attempt to be affectionate.

"Okay," Virgil said resolutely and let go of Logan's hand. He went over to his mini-fridge and pulled out a bag of blood. Virgil still locked it in case someone broke in, but the process was certainly tedious.

"B-positive? Really Virgil, is that what you spent so much money on?" Deceit said derisively, bopping Virgil on the shoulder as he passed by the loft to drop it in the heater.

"You try eating anything next to Roman some time," Virgil rolled his eyes and motioned with his head to the still-fuming Roman on the loft.

"Fine. Hand me a bag," Deceit said, flipping his fingers and snapping impatiently with his free hand.

"Is _now_ really the time?" Virgil asked incredulously. Deceit jumped down from the bed and pulled a bag out of the fridge himself.

"Oh, look, O-negative," Deceit drawled the opposite of nonchalantly and leaned against his cane.

"_Nuh-uh_, if you really want to see what it's like grab A or O-positive," Virgil said crossly, pointing at the fridge as he waited for the heater.

"I don't even drink those at home," Deceit sauntered over to use the bag heater after Virgil extracted his.

"Sassing _me_ about it is okay, though?" Virgil raised his eyebrow and smacked him lightly on the shoulder as he passed.

"Of course," Deceit smiled airily and flipped his hand. After the telltale click, he sat in Roman's chair, crossing his legs. It seemed like a safe distance still despite the extra blood in the room. Virgil sighed and sat on the floor next to Deceit and bit into the bag. Ugh, three people watching him feed was grating at best. Deceit pulled the curtain closed just enough to cover himself while he fed. Bitch. Deceit smirked down at him while he drank. _Four_ isn't any better. Virgil just tried to focus on finishing the bag while Deceit looked exceedingly entertained. Patton and Roman watched with interest, and Logan watched oddly with his arms crossed. Virgil looked up to Deceit again, but he just shook his head. Virgil finished the last sip, draining the bag. He waited for his vision to clear and huffed, shaking his head.

"Seriously? I just _drank blood_ in front of you," Virgil threw up his arms in frustration. "Isn't that proof?"

"I assume those are bags of punch," Logan said, motioning to the bag in Virgil's hand. "Incredibly realistic bags, that is, but not blood," Deceit cackled and pulled open the curtain. Virgil took Deceit's empty bag and got up to toss them in his garbage can.

"That we heated? Is that a thing?" Virgil looked to Roman in bewilderment. Roman just shrugged, snickering a bit. Virgil looked to Deceit. "At least tell me you get why I bought all those rares," Virgil sighed with resignation.

"You're just being dramatic. Everything bagged doesn't taste good in my opinion. I only do it for you and the fact that it's more convenient than hunting," Deceit shrugged. Virgil groaned in frustration.

"I should have had Roman take off his shirt, then you'd get it," Virgil grumbled quietly to Deceit. "If watching me literally drink blood isn't proof enough, Logan, what is? Or are you happier pretending that I'm just a super pale guy with pointy teeth and cool skin who drinks goth aesthetic fruit punch? Because I will understand if that's what you want," Virgil said in disillusionment. He couldn't believe this. Virgil rubbed his head roughly, pulling at his hair a bit. He saw Logan look perplexed through his fingers, but Logan didn't respond.

"You could eat human food and get sick," Deceit offered with an impish smirk.

"Ugh, no, I'm still paying for those Jägerbombs. _You_ can eat, though," Virgil grinned at Deceit.

"He's not _my_ boyfriend," Deceit flipped his hand and flipped the way his legs were crossed, holding up his cane with both hands in front of him.

"Virgil, did you drink underaged?" Logan asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I am hundreds of years old," Virgil groaned. "D, back me up," Virgil motioned to Deceit.

"It's true, he's a man-child," Deceit laughed and Roman joined in. Even Patton tittered before catching themself and looking upset.

"D, that's mean," Patton pouted. Deceit crossed the room at a faster than human speed and swept up Patton in his arms, who looked dazzled and starry-eyed at him.

"I thought so," Deceit cooed, letting them go and climbing back down. Deceit hugged Virgil from behind with one arm. "Patton, do behave, you know I can hear your thoughts near Virgil," Deceit said and Patton blushed so wildly they turned scarlet red and they quickly buried themselves under Virgil's weighted blanket. Pat knows blankets don't block thoughts, right? Deceit exhaled a tiny amused breath through his nose.

"You can read thoughts? Virgil, is this where you are getting this from him?" Logan asked, motioning to Deceit.

"Pick a number, Lo," Virgil requested automatically. This was easy to prove. Well, it should be. He hoped it would be. Oh, hallowed fucking Hecate, it better be.

"Nine-thousand four-hundred twenty-seven and two-hundred fifty-seven ten thousandths. Interesting choice," Deceit cooed. "It clearly wasn't a random lucky guess, you made sure of that. You may as well abandon that train of thought," Deceit pressed into Virgil's neck and he melted slightly.

"Wow, what a number," Patton said reverently, peeking slightly out from under the blanket and still a shade of bright pink.

"He's a witch!" Logan shouted, pointing at Deceit. Virgil and Deceit absolutely lost it with that declaration and broke down laughing. Virgil doubled over and took Deceit with him while they cackled manically. He straightened back up and wiped his eye facetiously.

"He's not a witch, Logan, he's a vampire, get with the program," Roman rolled his eyes. He was drinking the espresso again, damn it.

"I… what?" Logan said, blinking. "I'm sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have-," He started to apologize.

"It's fine, Logan, D's been called _way_ worse things than a witch in his day," Virgil said humorously and let out an amused exhale.

"No, no, _grovel_ for forgiveness, by all means," Deceit chuckled lowly and pulled Virgil closer.

"You're such a bastard and I love you for it," Virgil whispered and Deceit shook his head and rolled his eyes, stealing a quick kiss. "He's kidding, by the way,"

"Was that cold reading?" Logan asked, tapping his finger on his bicep. His expression was a blend of annoyed and confused that Virgil could completely relate with right now, but perhaps for the opposite reason.

"Cold reading wouldn't give such a specific answer like that you know it. I can feel you grasping at straws," Deceit provided, flipping out his hand and nestling his chin against Virgil's neck.

"Do. The. Roller. Coaster. Thing," Roman said intensely, articulating his words with claps. He stared Virgil down and leaned forward to grasp the bed railing expectantly.

"Fine!" Virgil shot and flailed his arms. "Logan, if I could tell you that I can walk on the ceiling like a vampire can in the old stories and then did it, would you believe me?" Virgil asked.

"I suppose," Logan said motioning with his hands. Virgil flipped to the ceiling with Deceit still attached to him, turned his head to give Deceit a kiss, and dropped back to the floor.

"Are we cool, now?" Virgil asked impatiently. Logan stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.

"How did you set that up? There are no visible wires anywhere," Logan said, eyeballing the ceiling. "Ultra high strength fishing wire?" He muttered, walking around Virgil and Deceit, looking for strings by waving his hand near them. Virgil was about ready to pull out his hair. Life was a mistake.

"That's a good idea, love, grow your hair," Deceit said. "I always thought you looked stunning with longer hair," He cooed, running his hand through Virgil's hair.

"Vampire tales don't normally include that particular skill, what's the point?" Virgil rolled his eyes and exhaled heavily.

"We want to see! We want to see!" The peanut gallery chanted. Holy fucking shit, how did the night descend into this madness? He almost considered using his gift just to get out of here.

"Can I just say that this night has devolved in a way I could have _never anticipated_?" Virgil sighed and motioned to the room, feeling extremely defeated.

"They're _your_ friends love," Deceit purred in Virgil's ear.

"Oh, like you've been_ any_ help, you catty son of a bitch," Virgil hissed and glowered at Deceit, who just grinned toothily back at him.

"I _do_ try," Deceit said airily, but clearly smug.

"Less insulting D and more hair growing!" Roman jeered.

"Yeah, what he said! And also apologize! And also I thought we were friends!" Patton added, their words running together, still clearly hopped up on sugar even if Virgil couldn't hear their elevated heart rate.

"You _are _friends, D's just a b-" Virgil sighed. "A wonderful and considerate being that I genuinely appreciate having in my life," Virgil said dully and rolled his eyes.

"I think you calling me a_ bitch_ was more flattering," Deceit laughed breezily. "Give the people what they want, love, you have plenty of blood. Long and black and down to your hips like you used to wear it, please," Deceit requested, sounding very confident in his choice.

"I might _pass out_ if I grow it that long," Virgil objected. Roman looked fascinated, leaning forward, and holding the railing again.

"And I will be here to laugh at you the whole way down," Deceit purred. Virgil groaned loudly.

"But we_ are_ friends, right?" Patton asked, sounding concerned and holding on to the weighted blanket tightly.

"We're friends, I'm just taking the mickey out of Virgil," Deceit kissed Virgil's cheek. Virgil sighed and pulled out his phone.

"We're getting back to the Vampire thing, Logan, and I'm perfectly aware of how ridiculous this all is. _Believe me_. But I need to take a minute to grow my hair for the annoying and raucous peanut gallery, who I _know _have been drinking my espresso," He shot a glowered up to the two of them. Patton recoiled, but Roman just looked proud of himself. "And I'm keeping the purple," Virgil added bitterly and shot another glare at Roman, who just cackled back this time. Logan crossed his arms and shook his head dismissively. Valid. The most valid person in the room, even.

"Black," Deceit insisted firmly.

"Ombre!" Patton supplied. Virgil shrugged. That works. Deceit nodded.

"Grow your hair already, you whiny punk!" Roman jeered with his fist in the air.

"People can't grow hair at will," Logan said as Virgil's eyes lit up in the selfie camera and Deceit backed up so Virgil could rake his fingers through his hair. Virgil kept pulling it out until his vision swam and he stopped, sliding his phone back into his pocket, feeling dizzy. He held his head for a moment, trying to catch his balance.

"That's not waist-length," Deceit pouted, flipping at the hair partially down his back and tapped his cane impatiently.

"So cool!" Patton cheered.

"I was going to pass out, D. I at least need more blood. You know bagged doesn't go that far," Virgil exhaled, leaning back against Deceit. Deceit held on to him, holding him up. He might have pushed it too far, even. Deceit kissed his head affectionately.

"So who's the volunteer? Logan, perhaps, since you're so determined to rationalize everything and Virgil can't possibly drink your blood?" Deceit asked. Patton squeaked.

"I have bags, D," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"How in the world did you do that?" Logan said, walking around Virgil and Deceit again, then stopped to clean his glasses when he completed the circuit.

"It's real if you want to feel it," Virgil offered, feeling exhausted.

"I want to feel it!" Patton shot up their hand in the air and leaned off the loft to reach. Virgil went to go lean against the Loft support and Patton started running their hands through his hair. Roman reached out as well.

"I better not find gelato in my hair," Virgil hissed. Deceit played with the end before leaning back towards Virgil, wrapping one arm around Virgil's neck and raking his other hand through Virgil's hair affectionately.

"So no volunteers? What a shame. Blood, blood everywhere and not a drop to drink," Deceit shook his head pitiably. Roman looked like he was about to say something, but Logan got to it first.

"I volunteer," Logan raised his hand partway.

"You're kidding, you don't even believe vampires exist and you'd let me drink your blood?" Virgil asked incredulously, narrowing his eyes at Logan.

"You've rationalized literally everything Virgil as done tonight," Roman laughed, brazenly drinking more espresso. Virgil sighed and held on to Deceit.

"Do it from the neck!" Patton cheered. Virgil rubbed his face again. He _knew_ what he did to deserve this, but also _what did he do to deserve this_.

"I'm not Brooding Logan, Pat, he doesn't even believe me," Virgil glowered at his boisterous friends.

"I'll drink from him if you won't," Deceit smirked and taunted him.

"No thralls! Dorm rules!" Roman shot, holding out a finger.

"Rude, Roman. Rude," Deceit huffed and knocked his cane on the floor to punctuate his offense.

"I'm serious Virgil, I volunteer," Logan said, holding out his arm.

"It's not consenting if you don't even believe in what you're consenting to, Logan, there's _no way_ I'm doing that," Virgil shook his head adamantly.

"I appreciate your concern, Virgil, but I am an adult and I am curious if you can actually drink my blood," Logan insisted, raising his arm to Virgil's face. Virgil looked between Logan's arm and face for a moment.

"That's _consent,_ love, and I know you're thirsty," Deceit smiled and nudged Virgil.

"He's mildly anemic, I wouldn't even consider it unless he had some food," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Is cold pizza okay, Logan?" Roman asked, getting up from his spot. Patton pouted at him for moving.

"I suppose?" Logan said.

"Well, sit down and I'll grab you some pizza," Roman supplied, crawling off the loft, heading to his mini-fridge. "Will you buy us a toaster oven, Virgil?"

"Sure," Virgil nodded. He climbed up on to the loft and laid down in front of Patton. Deceit laid on top of him, possibly to be a little shit, but Virgil could not care less.

"You want cold pizza, Pat?" Roman asked, pulling out a pizza box.

"The answer to that is _always_ yes," Patton nodded. Roman passed Patton a slice of pizza and held open the box for Logan to take a slice and put it down on the table above the recording equipment. Roman sat at his desk and stacked two slices on top of each other to eat them together. Virgil sighed as Deceit stroked Virgil's hair while they laid on the bed. Virgil closed his eyes and enjoyed the contact.

"I have finished my slice," Logan supplied from below the loft. Virgil didn't bother moving, because this was clearly ridiculous and out of hand and he was tired and didn't want to deal with any of this.

"No, no, you've got an offer for fresh blood and you are getting up or I'm doing what Patton's thinking about," Deceit said, rolling off of Virgil and pushing him off the loft, pushing him over the railing with ease. Virgil grunted when he landed upright and glared at Deceit. He watched Patton bury themselves in the blanket again. "It's very tempting,"

Virgil sighed and held out his hand to Logan. Logan handed over his arm and Virgil cut into his wrist and started drinking. It was absolutely heavenly after growing his hair that long. Fresh blood was so unreasonably delicious. Virgil drank appreciatively. Logan's blood, in particular, was almost gourmet. He must take ridiculously good care of his body.

"Stop, love," Deceit supplied from the loft and Virgil stopped and sealed the cut. Logan pulled his arm back curiously, examining where Virgil drank from. He seemed very considerate for a moment, not having an immediate reaction. Virgil sighed and laid back on the floor with a flop, closing his eyes. If he still didn't believe after blood loss Virgil was completely out of ideas and would just have to accept being a weird purple-eyed goth albino to his boyfriend.

"How does your circulatory system work? Does it pump the blood you drink? Do you warm up if you drink more blood and your body pumps more of it? Do you digest the blood any?" Logan started asking a stream of questions. Ah. He finally believes, and _all _Virgil had to do was drink his blood. Logan kept rambling off questions Virgil couldn't possibly answer.

"Woah, woah, I can't answer that stuff, I have no idea how I function," Virgil held up his hands and angled up to look at Logan. "Or how D functions, for that matter," Virgil added.

"Yes, vampires don't prefer being experimented on while we're alive and don't have corpses to study when we're dead," Deceit offered, rolling off the loft and laying on the floor with Virgil. Patton took the cane left on the bed curiously and started looking at it. "I'm glad you could finally join us, Logan,"

"Are you going to join the clan, Lo?" Patton said, hanging off the loft to look at Logan in the chair. Logan was still staring mystified at his arm.

"Patton, I love you and your enthusiasm, but please drop it," Virgil sighed, dropping back to the floor silently, as much as he would have preferred a dramatic thud, his downstairs neighbors surely wouldn't.

"Why? I want Logan to join!" Patton pouted, hair still flipped oddly from looking at Logan.

"I'm so tired," Virgil groaned in objection.

"Speaking of, finish growing your hair, love," Deceit smirked.

"You're the _actual_ devil," Virgil huffed and sat up, pulling his phone back out to finish the job. Deceit smiled at him and Virgil finished pulling the rest of the hair out to waist length. Deceit pulled him into a sudden kiss as soon as Virgil finished, and Virgil melted into his lips, reaching up to hold him. Where the fuck did that come from?

"What can I say, I've been nostalgic," Deceit responded Virgil's unasked question.

"I'll keep it this length if you stay the night," Virgil tempted Deceit.

"How about you stay the night at my estate?" Deceit counter-offered. "_You_ don't have work in the morning,"

"Roman drank my entire espresso, there's no way he doesn't want to watch movies in a pile half the night. I thought you'd like to join. How about I go with you after they pass out?" Virgil countered. Deceit smiled knowingly and looked very pleased with himself.

"Pat had some too, actually," Roman smirked. "I'm pulling out the air mattress, so get off the floor," Roman said, kicking Virgil.

"I think I require another slice of pizza," Logan said, putting his hand to his head lightly.

"Of course!" Virgil shot up, holding the box open for Logan to get another slice.

"You would be willing to answer all my questions, right?" Logan asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll answer what I can," Virgil said. "I'm just not that sure how I work, biologically. And I won't submit to any science that could be made public," Virgil added. "But I don't mind if you want to poke at me in private,"

"Nice," Roman said salaciously and nodded. Roman and Deceit snickered together. Virgil rolled his eyes. Logan only blushed a tiny bit.

"You're very cute when you blush," Virgil smiled at Logan while Roman and Deceit both set up the air mattress. "You, uh, don't want to break up with me or anything do you?" Virgil asked nervously.

"Um, no. I admit the news is jarring and I feel a little ridiculous for not seeing it. I apologize for not listening to you," Logan said, somewhat sheepishly.

"I'll order hot food, what does everybody want?" Virgil said, pulling out his phone. Roman and Deceit put the sheets on the mattress and Roman went to go set up the projector to the ceiling.

"I need something high in iron, like leafy greens or beef," Logan supplied, sounding very distant.

"Burgers, I guess, since it's both?" Virgil asked if that was okay. Logan nodded.

"I'll take a chicken or turkey burger," Patton said.

"You know what I like, you can pick a burger for me," Roman said, messing with the cables for the projector and the laptop. "Just not whatever kale burger that Logan is probably getting. I hate kale," Virgil made the order and Deceit flipped on the teakettle, then pulled Virgil in for another hug.

"If you're not feeling touchy, you can take my loft and the weighted blanket. We got a projector like you suggested," Virgil offered.

"I wouldn't mind the contact. I'm feeling a bit chilly," Logan admitted, still sounding kind of blank.

"Sorry. Half of us can't exactly help with that," Virgil chuckled. "You'll have to cuddle Pat or Ro if you want warmth," Virgil suggested weakly. He felt bad for upsetting Logan so much.

"Would making Logan a Brood cure his anemia?" Patton asked, crawling down from the loft and pulling the extra-large weighted blanket with them.

"Yes, since it's mild. Assuming Virgil kept giving him venom anyway," Deceit said, motioning for Virgil to come over as he sat on the air mattress.

Patton flopped down and buried themselves in the blanket on the air mattress. Logan more tentatively sat down and picked up a corner of the blanket to lie under.

"Is this 'brood' thing a vampire something I am not aware of?" Logan asked, shifting closer to Patton but maintaining a few inches of space.

"Yeah, and I'm too tired to explain it right now, but Patton would probably be happy to. As long as they can promise to not try to convince you to join my undead legion," Virgil sighed, aware that Patton wouldn't agree to that already. Patton crawled behind Virgil and sat down.

"I'm making no such promises and also I'm going to braid your hair," Patton chirped, reaching out and taking handfuls of Virgil's hair.

"Drop your shields," Roman Pushed Virgil as he laid down, taking the spot where Patton was before they started braiding Virgil's hair.

"'M so tired," Virgil mumbled and yawned.

"Drop 'em," Roman insisted again, pressing his head to Virgil's side. Virgil complied and yawned again, this time much wider. "I just realized I've literally never seen you yawn until now. And we _live_ together," Roman said, almost as if he was in awe. Deceit laid in Virgil's lap and dropped his shield, too, and Virgil sighed in relief, feeling the sweet sensation of a beating heart. He'd normally be all over kissing Deceit by now, but he was completely exhausted from the hair growth. Deceit's smug smile was plenty of satisfaction, though.

"I've never grown like two feet or whatever of hair in front of you before," Virgil said blithely. "What are we watching?" Deceit got up and a cup of tea.

"I was thinking Dead Poet's Society. Y'know, for you poetry nerds. It's also it's a brilliant movie, so us non-poetry nerds can enjoy it, too," Roman offered, pulling the laptop closer to himself.

"What, not a Disney film? From Roman?" Virgil asked with mock horror. "You don't have to be afraid to tug, Patton, it takes a _lot_ to pull out my hair or hurt me," He added tiredly, realizing he barely felt anything on his scalp. Deceit pressed the mug of tea into Virgil's hands and settled back down next to him, laying partially in his lap.

"You promise?" Patton asked hopefully.

"Thanks, D. Yeah, go for it," Virgil nodded and enjoyed the smell of the earl grey D made for him.

"I didn't think half the audience would want cartoons all night long," Roman explained with a slight shrug.

"I am not a big fan of cartoons. I do have a soft spot for studio ghibli, though," Deceit admitted, reaching out for Virgil's hand.

"Who doesn't?" Patton tittered.

"How about Princess Mononoke after this, then?" Roman suggested and Patton cheered in agreement.

"D's favourite is actually Nausicaä, but good guess," Virgil smirked.

"Princess Mononoke is Virgil's favourite, don't let him distract you," Deceit shifted to sit up slightly with Virgil to increase the amount of contact.

"I would have guessed Kiki's Delivery Service," Patton chimed in. Patton's fingers raking through Virgil's hair was very relaxing.

"That's his second favourite. He would have cried if he could," Deceit chuckled.

"You can't cry, Virgil? How do your eyes remove irritants?" Logan asked curiously, shifting to face Virgil, moving slightly closer to Roman.

"It's like a thin film. Almost like snake eyelids, but I don't shed them. It's why I can't change my eye color, the film fucks with my glamour. I just use eye drops or water to wash them off. D's is more like a goo, he can still cry but the tears are weird. He's also _only _moved by schadenfreude," Virgil chuckled.

"That's true," Deceit smirked playfully.

"Logan's never seen you change your glamour, you dork. Do a cat eye," Roman chided him and jabbed him in the side.

"Ugh, I'm so tired already," Virgil moaned but pulled out his phone and changed his makeup to a cat eye with purple eyeshadow and a mauve lip, just to give Roman want he wants so he'd shut up.

"Oh, glam," Roman purred and finished loading up the movie. He rolled over to look at the ceiling and Virgil leaned back so he and Deceit could look up. Patton kept playing with Virgil's hair.

"Are you doing okay, Logan?" Virgil asked, glancing slightly down at Logan. He had been very quiet for that.

"Yes, I am…" Logan paused and then made 'explosion' hand motions around his head. "No words," He added.

"Oh, yeah, mood," Roman agreed. "Pat's still playing with Virgil's hair, so if you want body heat you'll have to settle on me, Logan," Roman chuckled. Logan nodded slightly and moved closer to Roman. Logan held out his arm and Logan seemed to reluctantly move in, stopping only an inch from Roman.

"Sorry to have to throw you to the Sharks, Logan. I'm actually colder than room temperature. Roman and Patton use me like an ice pack," Virgil smiled.

"I'm not a _shark_," Roman made an offended noise.

"Please wake me for food if I fall asleep," Logan muttered.

"Of course, Logan, plenty of iron for you soon. Sorry for, uh, melting your brain and stealing your blood and all," Virgil apologized sheepishly. Logan just shook his head and closed his eyes. Virgil glanced back up to watch the movie projected on the ceiling.

"Logan's not mad, love, just tired and confused," Deceit cooed.

"And I'm sorry about it," Virgil said hourly.

"I will bite you," Deceit narrowed his eyes.

"Roman said no funny stuff in the dorm," Virgil chuckled slightly. Patton froze for a moment and Deceit laughed.

"Yes, _exactly_," Deceit purred. Virgil rolled his eyes.

"So, you…" Patton started to ask.

"We do. He might," Deceit smirked. Patton froze again and took much longer to resume playing with Virgil's hair.

"That's so annoying," Roman narrowed his eyes. "At least have the common courtesy to talk telepathically," Roman huffed. "I don't like being left out of conversations,"

"I think D's teasing me again, I'm not sure," Virgil stifled another yawn.

"Oh, I'm accomplishing a _lot_, I assure you," Deceit purred, reaching up to caress Virgil's cheek.

"Maybe no more confusing Logan with stuff, at least until he eats. He deserves time to process this. Not everybody can be as balls to the wall as Patton," Virgil sighed.

"I'm 'balls to the wall'?" Patton asked.

"It's an old pilot thing," Virgil grunted. "I thought people still used that phrase. I guess it died out. It means going all-in. People still use poker phrases, right?" He asked absentmindedly and yawned again.

"Were you a pilot?" Roman asked curiously.

"No more additional information, watch the sad movie," Virgil said, pointing up. Roman groaned but looked up, pressing his head against Virgil's thigh. Virgil hummed happily as Patton took out the braid they were working on by running their fingers against his head. Patton started a new one diligently, different strands being pulled about in ways Virgil wasn't fully aware of, but was happy to feel Patton having fun. He'd probably wear whatever Patton ended up deciding on.


	28. Sir Prize

"It's absolute _bullshit_, Virgil! No freshman can play the lead role. Ugh! He can't even waltz! One of_ us _will have to teach him!" Roman shouted, waving his arm in dissatisfaction. Virgil held Roman gently in the middle of the dorm floor while he fumed wildly about the audition results, trying to console him with very little success. He rubbed Roman's back a while and sighed with exasperation. Just getting him back to their dorm was hard enough. Virgil was still pissed about Mitchell's bullshit and only just managed to start saying consoling or productive words. He mostly was just hissing and grousing as he guided an enraged Roman across campus to their room. Roman tried to run off to punch things on 4 separate occasions. Virgil nearly let him until he realized Roman would dent or damage whatever he hit, and Virgil wasn't in the mood to deal with that.

"Well, at least you're not playing a _womanizer_," Virgil rolled his eyes and shifted Roman in his lap to sit more comfortably.

"I was clearly better suited for and more capable of playing Septimus than that Anton jerk!" Roman hissed angrily. Virgil ran his hand through Roman's hair and continued to try to settle him down.

"I thought so, too, but at least you get to threaten him with a sword," Virgil offered in solace. Roman looked more interested in that over everything else he'd tried to say to calm him down. He should have known threats of violence were the answer. When weren't they, really? He knew what he'd like to say to that- nope, nope. Deal with Roman's anger and his own anger would calm down.

"That is a bonus," Roman huffed and crossed his arms. "But Septimus's lines are more fun, and Captain Brice is _barely_ in the play," Roman groaned bitterly, his fingers balled into fists. Virgil kissed Roman's forehead and stroked his hair again.

"And you'll deliver those lines way better than anyone else on the stage, and they'll see their dire folly," Virgil cooed, slightly running his nails gently along Roman's scalp and returning to stroking his back.

"Quit patronizing me, Virge! It's a travesty of _justice_!" Roman objected loudly, flailing an arm again in righteous indignation. And people called Virgil a drama queen. Roman was the drama king and Virgil was a drama knight at worst compared to him.

"I'm not patronizing you, I'm giving you the gift of the greatest and most powerful driving force behind all human endeavors. Spite," Virgil smirked. If nothing else works, appeal to spite. It had always worked for Deceit in the past, anyway. Roman blinked at him for a moment, processing what he said.

"You devious bastard," A grin broke out and spread slowly across Roman's face. Roman grabbed Virgil's head and jerked him forward to kiss him. "Bless you," He held his face and said emphatically. Virgil hissed facetiously at the blessing. Roman looked shocked and pulled back quickly.

"Sorry, vampire joke," Virgil chuckled, having amused himself, and lightly scratched Roman's neck. Roman shivered slightly at the gentle motion.

"You sound exactly like a cat when you really mean it, it's surprising," Roman said, looking slightly baffled up at Virgil.

"We can go blow off some steam somewhere, if you like. I know it's getting late and a school night, but you've never seemed to care," Virgil shrugged. Anything to cheer Roman back up so Virgil wouldn't go stalk Mitchell and… cheer up Roman. Staying in control was important.

"Get me drunk, Virgil," Roman held Virgil's shoulders and stared seriously into Virgil's eyes.

"What, for real? You sassed the _shit_ out of me when you thought I was drinking under-aged," Virgil huffed angrily, shaking his head. The audacity of this bitch.

"I never implied that I was free of sin," Roman crossed his arms, continuing his intense stare.

"Let me guess, you and your brother were teenage bastards and got drunk at house parties?" Virgil took a guess, but he was positive he was right.

"Hey, Remus was the bastard. And it was only a couple of times during my senior year. I'll have you know I was a perfect gentleman," Roman glowered at Virgil and held his hand to his chest.

"_Nobody_ is a perfect gentleman drunk. You probably only _thought_ you were," Virgil rolled his eyes and shifting Roman again so he could reach his upper back to scratch that.

"Excuse me, ladies hung around me like moths to a flame," Roman said proudly but melted quickly after Virgil started moving his hand.

"I'm sure they just knew you were safe because you're gay and your eyes or hands never wandered to their _anywhere_," Virgil chuckled and started rubbing Roman's back instead, not wanting to accidentally cut Roman.

"Okay, in hindsight, maybe that's true. But I never broke any vases or threw anybody into a pool," Roman said defensively, though his expression was still relaxed.

"Speaking of gay hindsight, are you thinking about coming out of the closet yet?" Virgil asked, gently scratching the back of Roman's head again.

"I… I don't know if it's the right time," Roman muttered, closing his eyes.

"It's not like they can cut you off anymore, you already cut yourself off. You're the one who thinks it's important," Virgil reminded him.

"Okay, so I'm nervous about it, so sue me!" Roman shot Virgil a cross look.

"You? _Nervous_? I don't believe you," Virgil laughed airily. Roman swatted him on the arm with a sour look on his face.

"Are you going to get me drunk or not?" Roman pouted, returning his arms to the angrily crossed state.

"Fine, fine, we'll drink away your casting woes. Do you want me to sneak you in a bar or do you want to just get a hotel room and some high-dollar tequila?" Virgil listed Roman's options, not feeling like fighting it any longer.

"Oh, I didn't realize the second one was an option," Roman hummed, sounding like he was mulling it over.

"We can't bring alcohol on campus. I'm stealthy but I'm not risking expulsion over you being moody about some guy who _can't even waltz_," Virgil said, tilting his head and rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Let's do the high-dollar tequila one, I don't want to get arrested at a bar," Roman decided. Probably the better choice of the two.

"Smart. Do you want to invite anybody?" Virgil asked, returning to running his fingers through Roman's hair and humming contentedly.

"Patton and Logan both don't approve of under-aged drinking," Roman frowned. "They're not up for it and they probably don't want us doing it either,"

"That's true," Virgil shrugged. "And I'm not boozing up the whole drama club minus Anton, I draw the line there. How about D? He'd also find it a travesty that you weren't cast as the lead," Virgil suggested with a slight smirk.

"His hobby seems to be_ embarrassing_ me, Virge, why would I want to do that?" Roman asked incredulously, tilting his head from side to side.

"Because he is the most affectionate drunk on the planet. He would whisper you sweet nothings instead of you being stuck listening to me make fun of you all night," Virgil explained his reasoning with a little shrug.

"Oh, are you drinking with me?" Roman raised his eyebrow. So Roman _remembered_ that Virgil was a bitchy drunk. Virgil chuckled through his nose and took Roman's hand.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm buying it. I'm not watching you have fun all night, that'd be the _real _travesty of justice," Virgil grinned evilly as he watched Roman return to righteous indignation in a second flat.

"No worse than Anton's _acting_, I assure you!" Roman blurted irately, glaring at Virgil.

"He's not _that _bad, Princey. I thought he was good," Roman looked extremely offended and made a wide variety of upset noises. "You were better, hands down! But he'll be good enough," Roman made a variety of offended noises. "Fine, he'll be an absolute disaster. So much of a wreck the entire theatre collapses due to his sheer ineptitude," Virgil rolled his eyes and pulled Roman's hand up to kiss his knuckles.

"Now you're _definitely_ patronizing me," Roman crossed his arms again and scowled. Virgil dropped his hand and pulled him in close for a kiss. He maybe restarted this mess, but he didn't want Roman to get riled up all over again and turn Virgil into an angry idiot. Roman was sour at first but kissed back after a moment. He didn't care about the placating words much longer.

"If you want to, text D and ask him if he wants to get drunk with us. I can't reach my phone without moving you. So get off so I can start looking for a liquor store and a hotel," Virgil asked him after he pulled away. Roman looked a little dazed and blinked a few times before shaking it off and pulling out his phone. Virgil kissed Roman's hair while he texted. "So those party examples earlier were very specific. Your brother _did_ break a vase and throw someone in a pool, didn't he?" Virgil raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, he did. It's really not a particularly splendid idea to get him drunk," Roman smiled knowingly. There was probably a story there, and that little smile intrigued Virgil.

"That just makes me want to get him drunk, Princey. Don't threaten _me_ with a good time," Virgil laughed. He wanted to see this guy party.

"Your ancient unhinged ass is probably the most dangerous combination with him," Roman looked a little horrified at the thought. "You must _never _get him drunk,"

"You _know_ I'm cautious, what makes you say that?" Virgil asked, nearly feeling offended at the implication. Virgil could control himself just _fine_. Assuming he _stayed_ in control, anyway.

"Because it doesn't take very much to flip that caution into fuckitville when it comes to low-risk things, and sometimes if you do enough low-risk things the higher risk stuff seems more acceptable. Remus would find a way to change your mind and he'd abuse it," Roman insisted seriously.

"You're no fun," Virgil stuck his tongue out.

"You probably want an excuse to do stupid shit deep down. Remus once jumped off a roof to see if he'd bounce," Roman motioned to Virgil and looked very convinced he was right.

"Oh, a _scientist_," Virgil chuckled. Roman was probably right.

"See?" Roman glared at him, gripping one of Virgil's shoulders.

"Fine, I trust you! I get that I have a poor sense of boundaries and sometimes imagine brutally murdering people," Virgil rolled his eyes, taking Roman's hand again.

"God, Virgil, don't joke about that," Roman furrowed his eyebrows at Virgil.

"No, I do. I don't want to do it. Well, sometimes I do. I know better, anyway," Virgil shrugged dismissively.

"You should probably feed on me," Roman said deliberately and nodded.

"Ro, we talked about this. I'm not sure what's the compulsion and what's you," Virgil huffed. This wasn't the first time this week he brought it up. Roman was probably just trying to wear Virgil down like he always does.

"You're having murder thoughts and I have tasty _tasty_ blood that solves that problem! Deceit will back me up!" Roman said fiercely, trying to tempt Virgil.

"If he wants to come out with us to a hotel, anyway," Virgil said dismissively. Deceit _would_ back him up. He did just shove him off the bed to drink from Logan the other day. Murder thoughts just came with the whole package, and D knew that. But D was never afraid to take what he wanted, including what he wanted for Virgil. Roman checked his phone.

"He doesn't. He wants us to come to get drunk at his apartment," Roman said, showing Virgil the screen.

"With my baby grand? Sold!" Virgil shot up, still holding onto Roman. "My violin is there too," Virgil beamed brightly and twisted around, spinning Roman with him.

"Put me down you fucking dork," Roman said humorously, pushing off of Virgil. Virgil set him down gently. "I want to wear something nice," Roman went to his closet and started sliding around hangers.

"I thought you were dashing in that silk top," Virgil winked, watching him dig around in his closet.

"I'll think about it. It was hard to wash the club smell out of it last time. You should probably put up your hair or it'll get alcohol in it somehow. It always happened at parties to people with long hair," Roman suggested and motioned to Virgil's hair. Virgil hummed in agreement and stepped into the bathroom so he could French braid it in the mirror.

"Will you flit me there?" Roman asked, sounding like he had found something and started changing into it.

"That's dangerous, Ro, I can't adjust gravity for anybody but me," Virgil groaned as he slid his fingers through his hair and pulling it all into a braid.

"Oh, like you'd _ever_ drop me," Roman huffed disbelieving.

"If I get attacked mid-air I might," Virgil growled. Roman had absolutely_ no_ survival instinct. How did Roman survive this far, exactly?

"How often does that happen?" Roman asked, very obviously poking around for a reasonable place to argue for his cause.

"More often than zero. We should make sure to get you some food to eat," Virgil said, trying to change the subject. Virgil knew if he let Roman go at it too long, he'd change his mind.

"I can bring some leftovers in a bag. He's got a fridge, right? I've got a half-sub and some penne. I still think you should carry me. It'd be way faster than a car if you're anywhere close to D's speed," Roman changed the subject back. Damnit.

"I'm faster," Virgil grunted. "Ever so slightly, though. D's pretty fast for a turned. But you don't want me to go that fast. Your body isn't wired for it," He wrapped the bottom of his hair in a hair tie he dug out of the bottom of his shower bag and started pinning up loose hairs in the mirror.

"Seriously, Virge, more often than zero is probably you saying it doesn't happen that often," Roman objected, and he wasn't wrong. He still was an idiot, though.

"Yeah, it doesn't, but it's still dangerous," Virgil grunted back, making sure everything was in place in the mirror.

"I'll let you drink my blood," Roman sang temptingly from the bedroom.

"That's you getting_ two_ things you want, Ro. You're not fooling me," Virgil rolled his eyes and slid another hairpin in.

"So you admit that you know I want it and it's not just the compulsion!" Roman shouted out suddenly. Holy shit, he wasn't willing to drop either subject.

"Hecate, save me from this evil," Virgil groaned and ran his hand down his face in frustration.

"Don't you want to make me happy?" Roman asked sweetly. He was a dog with a bone and he wasn't letting it the fuck go.

"All the time! I just- augh, you are so frustrating!" Virgil growled. Roman came into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around Virgil, kissing his neck from behind. He had changed into a jewel tone red long sleeve button down with decorative stitching instead of the plain white button-down he auditioned in.

"Do it," Roman hissed temptingly in his ears, like the _evil siren_ he is.

"I thought your _brother_ was supposed to be the one who was a dangerous combination with me," Virgil groaned, looking at Roman's smug face in the mirror. Roman clearly knew he was winning.

"Once again, I never implied _I _was free of sin," Roman smirked to Virgil's reflection. "Wear a dark lip color, you look so good in it," Roman smiled and kissed Virgil's neck again. Virgil sighed and changed his makeup to something cleaner and more defined with a dark purple lip. "Stunning. Now take me flying," Roman demanded.

"You're _very_ bossy for a_ sub_," Virgil chided in a low voice and smirked darkly at Roman's reflection. Roman sputtered wildly, letting go of Virgil. Virgil laughed loudly, holding his sides while Roman babbled partial objections.

"I- I'm not!" Roman eventually stammered out.

"I just wanted to shut you up, Princey," Virgil smiled and pulled Roman back in, kissing him. "I like the outfit you picked. The embroidery on the sleeves is very classy," Virgil felt the stitching on Roman's top. It was flimsy as best, but it looked nice.

"Thanks," Roman blushed and rubbed his arm a little sheepishly. "I hope Pat's figured out shielding better or they're probably very confused right now," He mused.

"I'm 100% positive you confuse them on at least an hourly basis. But this is what they wanted," Virgil shrugged, grabbing Roman's hand and leading him out of the bathroom, then twirling him around the middle of the dorm floor.

"An hourly basis? Please. You're at least as bad as me. You freaked out because found a song you really liked earlier," Roman objected as he spun into Virgil's chest. Virgil pulled him in and pouted.

"It was a _really_ good song," Virgil growled defensively.

"And that organ at the theatre? You're a massively irredeemable music nerd," Roman kissed his cheek. "Come on, take me by foot," Roman pestered him again, but it was clear in Roman's tone he already knew he'd won.

"Fine, but I'm leaving you alone on a roof while I pick up the alcohol," Virgil grunted in concession.

"And put on a flowy blouse," Roman smiled sweetly.

"Oh, my hallowed Hecate. I need Pat around with you at all times. You're like a shoulder devil unopposed all by yourself," Virgil sighed dramatically and let go of Roman to go change tops.

"You don't seem that resistant," Roman crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one foot while he watched. "You're not_ really _going to leave me alone on a roof, are you?" He asked as Virgil found a blouse that matched the description, still black of course, and pulled off his hoodie and shirt to change.

"Oh, absolutely. You'd rather be left alone in a dark alley?" Virgil smiled mischievously before sliding on the new top.

"Of course not!" Roman said, very irritated.

"They smell absolutely splendiferous, you'll love it. Nothing like the smell of roofing tar and gravel in the middle of a city," Virgil said smarmily and smirked before pulling Roman back in.

"You're an absolute bastard," Roman grunted.

"And you're a terrible influence," Virgil smiled, and they kissed again. Virgil assaulted Roman's face with a 62 little kisses and Roman's expression melted into a sweet expression with a little giggle in his throat.

"How do you get up to the roof to leave, anyway? They lock the door there," Roman mused after a moment of finding his bearings.

"I just pick it. So does Deceit. I've never met a vampire who couldn't pick a lock," Virgil twirled Roman around again.

"That's objectively terrifying," Roman said, looking very concerned when he came back.

"So am I," Virgil flashed his fangs. "You're just an idiot and Patton's got kinks," Virgil said derisively.

"What about Logan, then?" Roman huffed, surprisingly not objecting to being an idiot this time.

"Intellectually curious. He normally has the good sense to keep his space. But also I think he might have a thing for goths," Virgil shrugged. "Pack some food for your human intestines," Roman sighed and went to the fridge to pull out some leftovers. Virgil grabbed a bag out of his closet and tossed it in Roman's way. Virgil watched him pack the food, feeling pretty satisfied with himself. He knew how to make Princey shut up about wanting to go flitting again.

"To the rooftop, your majesty?" Virgil held out his hand. Roman lightly rolled his eyes but took Virgil's hand, anyway.

They locked up and headed out of their dorm and up the stairwell. Roman didn't whine about taking the stairs for once, even though there were a few flights to climb. When they got to the top of the stairs, Roman crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, motioning to the door with his arm and looking unimpressed. Virgil flipped a sharp pin set out from behind his ear and listened for the tumblers, picking the lock swiftly. He opened the door and bowed, holding it open for Roman with his arm outstretched.

"You're such a fucking show off," Roman groaned, but he was clearly impressed.

"I just like seeing your dumbfounded face," Virgil slid the pins back into place and checked to make sure the straps of the bag were tight enough before pulling Roman up into his arms. "Do not let go of my neck under any circumstances or I'm never doing this again," Virgil hissed. Roman wrapped his legs around Virgil's Torso and nodded. Virgil supported him and held him close.

"Oh, so this isn't a one-time thing?" Roman smiled knowingly.

"I think you've proved your point about how I'm an idiot," Virgil held Roman tightly and walked to the edge of the roof. "You swear you don't have vertigo, right? I don't want to get thrown up on,"

"I would have gotten sick when you first roller-coaster'd me," Roman replied blithely.

"Great," Virgil grinned mischievously and held his foot off the edge of the roof.

"What are you doing?" Roman screeched at Virgil and gripped tighter. Virgil stepped off the roof. They dropped and Roman screamed in terror. Virgil reoriented against the building and pushed off two stories down and Roman possibly tried to choke Virgil out in anger with how hard he was squeezing.

"You think it's a smart idea to choke a person who's got you 12 stories up?" Virgil laughed as he jumped off the next building.

"You absolute fucking basilisk!" Roman screamed as Virgil bounded again, lifting his gravity and jumping higher.

"This is what you _wanted_, Princey," Virgil cackled in delight. That shut him up for sure.

"I wanted you to_ jump _off a roof, not fall off of one!" Roman retorted, his expression completely enraged. To his credit, other than futilely trying to choke Virgil in revenge, he hadn't let go.

"I've jumped off _multiple_ roofs," Virgil said smugly, making sure Roman was secure in his arms.

"You know what I meant, you _bastard_," Roman hissed furiously.

"Enjoy the ride, Princey, you're the one who was pushing for this," Virgil cackled again, jumping into the skyline.

"Promise to not do that again!" Roman demanded. Probably fairly.

"I have to do that sometimes," Virgil knew he was being a smartass, but Roman's reaction was just too good to stop.

"Then _warn_ me!" Roman growled his revised demands.

"Fine," Virgil laughed. He only intended to scare him like that once, anyway.

"Jump the next one backwards, I want to see," Roman requested, much less crossly this time.

"You're an absolute madlad," Virgil shook his head and complied. Roman cheered excitedly and Virgil faced forward again before landing. Maybe it was worth it to make him this happy. Roman's enjoyment was addictive. He really didn't feel things by halves.

—

Roman groaned on the living room couch at Deceit's. It served him right for telling Virgil to speed up. Virgil smiled and wrapped Deceit up into his arms and cherished kissing him 'hello'. Deceit hummed happily and kissed back.

"You wanted to get here fast, Princey," Virgil sassed Roman after pulling away. Virgil smiled like an idiot, happy to be back in Deceit's arms and held him close.

"I also wanted to keep my intestines where they are, but I suppose it was too much to ask," Roman groaned, grabbing a throw pillow and falling over, holding it tightly to himself.

"It's just some lag, you'll clear up in a moment. I'll get you some cold water," Virgil said and kissed Deceit's temple before letting go to grab one of his mugs from the cabinet. Virgil dispensed some ice water from the fridge for Roman and tossed Roman's food in the fridge. Virgil put it down on the coffee table for Roman when he got back up and deposited the bag on the floor. He yanked Deceit down on to the couch with him, wrapping his arms around Deceit and pressing a kiss into his neck.

"So what did you bring to drink, darling?" Deceit asked, eying the backpack next to Deceit's coffee table.

"Whiskey, tequila, and rum," Virgil smiled into Deceit's hair.

"You did always prefer having options," Deceit smirked. "The French braid is cute, love," Deceit angled his head to steal another kiss. "You've only got 30 minutes until you can't play anymore, so perhaps you should serenade us while Roman's intestines settle back into place," Deceit smirked when Roman failed to throw a punch at him and moaned weakly into the couch again.

"Promise you'll take us back to the dorms slower, you rapscallion," Roman groaned pitifully, pointing shakily to Virgil.

"We can take a car back if you want," Virgil offered. He didn't mind going slower, Roman was the one who wanted to speed up in the first place.

"Don't even _talk_ about motion right now," Roman grumbled. He was the one who brought it up, but Roman was the one suffering. Virgil stroked Roman's hair gently, feeling bad for him.

"If you throw up on my couch you are cleaning it up," Deceit said haughtily, wrapping his arms around Virgil's arm.

"Okay, I'll throw up in your _shoes_," Roman shot back. A-plus rebuttal. Deceit glared at Virgil for that errant thought. Virgil just smiled smarmily back.

"Do you want to lie in bed, Ro?" Virgil asked, checking on Roman as he stroked his hair.

"If you lift me again you die," Roman hissed weakly. It was so damn cute when humans pretended to be scary. Deceit chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"I'll carry you, you massive idiot," Deceit rolled his eyes and got up, scooping up Roman slowly and taking him into the bedroom. Roman whined feebly, but he probably wanted to lie in bed or D wouldn't have bothered moving him. Virgil got up and headed to the spare room to grab his violin and checked on it carefully. He made sure the strings were tuned and ran the bow across them, checking on the sound. Virgil walked over to the bedroom and Roman was laying back, looking much less distressed, and Deceit was leaning back on the edge of the bed.

"Requests?" Virgil asked, picking somewhere in the room not too close to Deceit to start playing.

"Partita No. 2," Deceit suggested smoothly, crossing his legs.

"I haven't touched a violin in over a month and you want me to play _that_?" Virgil rolled his eyes.

"I doubt you're out of practice. Woo me, love," Deceit smiled and folded his hands, the challenge clear in his tone.

"You just like torturing me," Virgil huffed and pulled the violin in position to play.

"I never said I didn't," Deceit smiled and Virgil stood upright and started to play.


	29. Violence

"Thank you for the lovely idea, Roman dear. This was exactly what I needed," Deceit cooed and clinked his plastic glass Virgil picked up at the liquor store with Roman's, who cheered and happily tapped his cup to Deceit's. They both took a long drink. Deceit held up his cup to Virgil and Virgil rolled his eyes and took a drink as Deceit leaned it back.

"When exactly did I become a _chair_?" Virgil asked, somewhere between disbelief and annoyance.

"When you dropped your shield. Hush with that tone, love," Deceit kissed him on the cheek, and Roman giggled, kissing the other side.

"Fine, it's _lovely _to have my two handsome boyfriends _pinning me to the couch_," Virgil said sarcastically and Deceit put his cup back in Virgil's face, having him take another drink.

"That's more like it," Deceit smirked and played with Virgil's braid. "Thank you for keeping this, love," He smiled softly. "So, we've drank, now tell me more about this bitch, Anton," Deceit looked to Roman and prodded him.

"You already _know_ about that bitch Anton," Virgil chuckled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"Hush, that's not how this works," Deceit tapped a finger over Virgil's lips. Virgil huffed dramatically and glowered at him.

"He wears too much black! Virgil looks great in all black, and I think you look quite dashing in it as well, but he's not a vampire! It's the vampire look! He's stealing it! And he can't even pull it off! And what's with the dumb goatee? He looks like a freakin' Disney villain! He looks like he'd cackle on some bank roof somewhere with a sack that has a giant dollar sign on it," Roman ranted and Deceit smiled, nodding along.

"Dreadful, absolutely horrific," Deceit said and kissed Roman's hand that was wrapped around Virgil's shoulder. "How dare he get the role just because he's older? Do the people running the show have no sense? You're clearly the superior actor. And what _gentleman_ doesn't know how to _waltz_?" Deceit purred, stroking Roman's ego.

"Exactly!" Roman shot, pointing at Deceit in agreement and took another drink. He leaned against Virgil and looked up to him affectionately. "Hey. I like your dumb face," Roman grinned coquettishly.

"Well, _your_ dumb face pisses me off," Virgil groaned and made a face at them.

"You're right, he _does_ have a very punchable face. But it's not charitable to punch someone with no ability to dodge or fight back, even though it's hard to hurt him," Deceit kissed Virgil's temple and kept playing with and tugging at Virgil's braid with the hand around his back. Roman smirked and flicked Virgil in the nose.

"I regret humoring you with alcohol," Virgil grunted, leaning back further and resigning himself to the fate of being lovingly harassed by his boyfriends.

"He says he loves you," Deceit purred, running his hand up through the back of Virgil's scalp and loosening the braid a bit.

"I know he's a surly drunk, and I think it's _cute_," Roman chuckled and played with one of Virgil's hairs that popped loose from Deceit messing with his hair.

"_You're_ cute," Virgil hissed an insult back at him. "Wait," Virgil paused and glowered at Roman when he realized. Oh, son of a bitch.

"Ha! Fooled you!" Roman shot, settling in closer in Virgil's lap. Damn, he really walked right into that one.

"You walked right into that one, love," Deceit kissed Virgil again. "You should call them,"

"What?" Virgil grimaced in confusion at Deceit, looking him up and down.

"Not you, beloved. Roman. You_ should_ call them, what's stopping you?" Deceit sipped his drink again, looking pointedly at Roman.

"You're not seriously-" Virgil was cut off quickly by a dramatic declaration from Roman.

"I'm calling them!" Roman shouted, putting down his drink and wrestling for his phone out of his pants pocket.

"You're a fucking idiot and you chugged a lot of dumb bitch juice tonight, are you sure you should be calling anybody?" Virgil pushed down Roman's shoulder so he'd struggle to pull the phone out and flopped his head back.

"I would _love_ to shut you up, darling," Deceit cooed and stroked his cheek.

"Shut him up!" Roman demanded, standing up off of Virgil's lap and finally succeeding to fish his phone out of his pocket now that it wasn't tight against his bent leg.

"Ro, this can't be a-" Virgil interrupted again, but this time it was by Deceit kissing him, and he forgot whatever it was he was worried about. Virgil wrapped both his arms around Deceit, who shifted to the center of his lap.

"No fucking while I'm on the phone," Roman said pointedly and put his phone up to his ear. Virgil would have loved to say 'no promises', but Deceit's kiss didn't relent and he quickly lost interest in sassing Roman.

"Hello, mom? Is dad with you? Yeah, I know it's late. It's important. Please get him," Roman talked on the phone. Wait, what was he doing? Deceit yanked at his braid and intensified the kiss, and Virgil was distracted again.

"You're a dirty enabler, you know that?" Virgil hissed when he pulled away.

"If I can't _corrupt the youth,_ then what are we _even doing_ here," Deceit whispered against his lips.

"I have a few choice_ ideas_," Virgil muttered back. Roman covered the receiver.

"Hey, I said no fucking while I'm on the phone," Roman grunted and shot them an angry face.

"So get off the phone," Virgil laughed airily.

"Am I on speaker now? Cool. Yeah, mom? Dad? I'm like, so gay. So very gay. So very incredibly gay. So very incredibly and fantastically gay. And I thought you should know. And I'm in a play and I'll see if I can get Virgil to record it and send it to you, since you always came to my plays in high school. Thanks for that, by the way. Also, I'm thinking about changing my major. I'll let you know what I pick. Have a marvelous night!" Roman hung up on them with a giant grin before they could respond.

"Go Princey!" Virgil cheered.

"Splendid job, darling," Deceit purred and pulled up Roman's hand to kiss his knuckles again. "Did you know that _something_ that Patton asked me to pick up the other day in the group chat? I just couldn't resist getting it," Deceit said temptingly and shifted back to one side of Virgil's lap. Oh Hecate, they had a group chat without Virgil. This won't end well.

"They did?" Roman beamed with delight. "Damnit, we should have brought the good camera!" He snapped his fingers and looked annoyed.

"What are you two demons conspiring about _now_?" Virgil groaned, rubbing his face in exasperation.

"I bought you a dress for the paso doble. It's burgundy and silk and I desperately want you to put it on, let your hair down, and dance with me," Deceit held his drink back up to Virgil's lip and Virgil took a long drink.

"Fine, you harpies will never let me live it down, will you?" Virgil whined bitterly and flipped his hand aggressively at them.

"Virgil has a DSLR in his room that I think will record if we hook it up to my laptop," Deceit suggested in lieu of Roman's 4K camera.

"You can't be serious," Virgil furrowed his eyebrows and looked to Deceit in concern.

"What? Patton wanted to see. Who am I to deny them the pleasure of you in a long flowy gown?" Deceit said airily, looking away.

"What is it with dressing me in flowy clothes tonight?" Virgil rolled his eyes, putting Deceit down on the couch to get up.

"It's the vampire aesthetic, Virge. Read a harlequin novel," Roman huffed, taking a sip of his drink quickly before heading into Virgil's Room with him.

"You dressed me up like lonely housewife smut?" Virgil asked incredulously, pulling the DSLR out of one of his boxes of storage for Roman.

"Thank you!" Roman chimed and happily took the camera, turning it on and checking the modes right away. "It does record! Go put on the pretty dress," Roman demanded brightly while he clicked around on the camera.

"Don't think I won't find some way to pay you back for this," Virgil muttered and put a hand on Roman's shoulder as he passed.

"Oh _no_, asking you to dance with your boyfriend so we can record it and make your other boyfriends and Pat happy. Truly something only a scoundrel would do," Roman said sardonically and headed back into the living room with a huff.

"And they're not going to question-" Virgil tried to dissent with the fact that they were here because Roman wanted to get drunk.

"Bup-bup-bup!" Roman interjected. "Less talky, more walky," Roman said, making a walking figure with his fingers. Virgil hissed and glowered at him.

"It's in my suit closet, love. I'll help you zip in," Deceit said. Virgil huffed and followed Deceit into the main bedroom.

"You two are incorrigible together," Virgil pouted and crossed his arms.

"You love us," Deceit smirked, pulling down the bag with the dress and unzipping it. It really was a beautiful dress. The quality of the fabric was impressive. "Come on, get in the dress and become my cape, darling," Deceit pulled the gown out of the bag and draped it over his arm.

"You wanted this from the start, didn't you?" Virgil squinted his eyes suspiciously at Deceit before throwing off his shirt and kicking out of his shoes and pants.

"I told you I was feeling nostalgic," Deceit said plaintively, checking his nails. The dirty schemer. He passed over the gown and Virgil slipped in, and Deceit zipped him up as soon as it was in place.

"Where in the world did you even _get_ a custom silk gown?" Virgil asked, noting how well it fit.

"I have my connections. Some of my suits are custom and my tailor was willing," Deceit smirked and pulled off the hair tie, slipping a finger into the braid and pulling it apart effortlessly. "The waves from the braid will look particularly fetching with this dress,"

"And they didn't question the completely different measurements from your own?" Virgil shot Deceit a look.

"Money talks, love. And If I send her a picture of how it fits, she'd likely agree to more. Lovely lady, honestly. Just the biggest bitch I've ever met. I couldn't ask for a better tailor. She never compromises," Deceit kissed Virgil's neck as he lazily undid the braid.

"Are you two done yet? I need Deceit to log in to his dumb laptop!" Roman called. Deceit nibbled Virgil's neck lightly and yanked the last of the braid out quickly.

"I'd love it if you put on sparkly glamor to go with the look, dear," Deceit motioned to the mirror and spun as he left the walk-in closet with a brief wave. Virgil sighed, realizing he wasn't drunk enough for this. "Yes, I'll pour you another drink," Deceit commented after a pause. Virgil switched his makeup to a dramatic cat eye and a bright red shiny lip for Deceit. He may as well look good. He stepped out into the living room and Deceit pushed a plastic highball of whiskey into Virgil's hands as soon as he crossed the threshold. Virgil threw it back and smirked at Deceit. He was excited to dance with him again, even if snark kept coming out of his mouth. He was glad Deceit knew that, too.

"Wow, Virge… holy shit," Roman said reverently, looking stunned as soon as he looked up from the laptop.

"Go kiss your boyfriend," Deceit shoved him forward, looking very smug. "I told you a bright lip would look good. I need to put on the matching vest," Deceit turned back into the bedroom. Matching vest? Virgil nearly turned around to see, but Roman's face was too precious and he stepped forward to him and Roman went in for the kiss quickly. Virgil picked Roman up and spun him around once while they kissed.

Deceit returned a few minutes later, much longer than he certainly needed, and posed with his hands while clicking his heel. Virgil pulled away from Roman and turned to look. Deceit absolutely did order a matching suit to the dress. He really was the most extra being in existence. If it was possible to love him more, Virgil would.

"Let's move the couch. Do adjust the exposure on the camera, darling, it's not the best lit in here," Deceit requested and picked up the coffee table to move out against the wall. Virgil picked up the couch and moved it into the front hall. "Is the camera ready to go, Roman?"

"Camera is ready and I await with bated breath!" Roman held his thumb up, sitting behind the laptop. Deceit and Virgil met in the center of the living room and Deceit shot Virgil a quick kiss before stepping back. "A little to the left. More towards me. There's the center," Roman said, leaning forward on his fists to watch.

"I hate you both," Virgil sang sourly, turning around and grabbing the sides of the skirt. Deceit turned around with a click of his heel.

"I _know_ darling, you're just fabulous at expressing your _ire_," Deceit cooed. "Take hold of the camera, Roman, because I will be tossing Virgil in the air and Pat won't want to miss it," Deceit said plaintively. A song clicked on after a moment, and they backed into each other and spun back to back while Virgil held out his skirt dramatically. Then they pivoted into each other and started dancing.

Deceit picked a very fast-paced song as usual, and they were shifting across the living room quickly to the beat, Virgil dancing on his toes and taking every chance to flip about his dress. The music intensified and Deceit flung Virgil about gracefully, flipping him in the air to a cymbal crash. Virgil kept his intense expression as he landed and swung Deceit back, then shot his leg between Deceit's and danced against him before Deceit spun Virgil out and the dress fluttered wildly. He had a blast dancing with Deceit, and Roman's wildly positive and excited moods just made it all the better. Virgil was mostly focused on dancing, but he caught Roman trying to keep up with the motion and follow them with the camera, arching the lens up when Virgil was flipped over Deceit's shoulder and Virgil splayed his legs.

Virgil and his dress was out in a large arch and Deceit lifted him off the ground as the song swelled into the finale, and Virgil had to fight to keep his face serious and impassive as Roman fought back a cheer with an odd expression. Deceit flipped Virgil over his back one more time before they landed into a pose, Virgil grasping his skirts and spreading them in a bow, and Deceit poising with his arms in the air. Roman cheered so loud he had to slam his hand over his own mouth.

"Don't get the cops called on us, love," Deceit laughed and walked over to Roman. "Thank me later, Patton," Deceit smirked into the camera before pressing a button on the laptop, probably ending the recording.

"I want photos of you two dancing on the ceiling," Roman whined, pushing out his bottom lip and pouting at Deceit.

"I'm not getting scuff marks on my ceiling for you," Deceit rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Virgil's dancing barefoot," Roman huffed, motioning with his arm to Virgil.

"Clicking the heels is part of the style, love, and I don't do things halfway," Deceit said, clacking his dress shoe heel for emphasis.

"Then waltz! I would just fall to the floor, I can't do it with him," Roman pouted. "Please?" Roman drew it out with a rising inflection, worrying his bottom lip. "It barely affected you when Virgil flipped up with you last time, I saw!" Roman said pointedly, begging Deceit. Virgil wasn't surprised Roman wasn't pleading with him as well. Roman probably knew Virgil would give in. That theory about baby steps of escalation to get Virgil to give in was probably right. He may as well get this over with.

"He did a great job as a cameraman and you know he'll get what he wants eventually," Virgil chuckled breezily, walking up to Deceit and kissing his head.

"Because you're so _wonderful _at resisting his charms," Deceit rolled his eyes. "I can't _lead_ up there," Deceit grumped and oh Hecate, he's so cute with that pouty face. Virgil couldn't resist kissing him again.

"It's just the once, love," Virgil smiled and held out his hand.

"Your dress will be in our faces in a hot second," Deceit protested again, pulling at Virgil's skirt which fluttered back down.

"I'll extend it to a hot _few_ seconds. Record it with a high frame rate so we can slow it down, Roman," Virgil said, flipping his fingers towards him.

"You are a massive pushover," Deceit glowered at Virgil, but softly smiled back after a moment of exasperation. Virgil and took his hand despite his multiple objections.

"Whenever you're ready, Ro," Virgil smirked and leaned down for a kiss. Roman trained the camera on the ceiling right above them.

"Ready!" Roman clicked the button and Virgil flipped to the ceiling, focusing hard on keeping his skirt up and twisting around in 5 seconds of waltz before they inevitably began to drop in his face, and Virgil flipped to the floor before he completely skirted himself on camera.

"Do you have telepathy or something? How did you do that?" Roman asked quickly as Virgil leaned in to kiss Deceit again on the ground.

"It's arguably better, but less functional," Deceit shrugged. "Come on, Roman. Let's head to sit down in the bedroom. I think we can get another thing you want, if you'd like to join me," Deceit said, pulling Virgil into the bedroom with him. Virgil groaned loudly in disapproval. Deceit shoved Virgil down to sit on the bed and took his place back in his lap like on the couch in the living room.

"Oh, let's," Roman smirked and sat back into Virgil's lap as well.

"Do it," Deceit hissed. "You know you're just being stubborn,"

"Do it," Roman echoed into his other ear.

"How in the actual fuck did I get _two _shoulder devils? You guys will be the end of me," Virgil moaned, feeling in peril from these bastards.

"Come on, Virgil, you know you want to," Roman smirked and held his wrist up to Virgil's face.

"Oh, it's more fun from the neck," Deceit purred, pushing Roman's arm down and pulling back Roman's shirt.

"I can't believe you two!" Virgil hissed angrily and tried to get up, but Deceit pushed back down on him, hard.

"You won't care for long. AB-negative and whiskey? It'll be amazing," Deceit tempted him further, and Virgil froze. Damn it, he was right. "I know I am. If you won't do it, I will. I have absolutely no qualms about drinking from Roman. He does smell delightful," Deceit whispered. Hallowed fucking Hecate, somebody save him. Deceit just raised his eyebrow and kept his impish grin.

"I'll need a huge breakfast, but I don't mind if you want to try it," Roman shrugged, unbuttoning the top buttons of his dress shirt.

"I will get you so many pancakes you'll _hate yourself_," Deceit smiled widely, flashing his fangs.

"This is happening whether or not I want it to, isn't it?" Virgil sighed.

"Most definitely, quit being such a bitch and bite me. I want a gift, too," Roman said proudly.

"Being drunk isn't consent," Virgil hissed.

"He wanted to _before_ he was drunk, don't be so stubborn," Deceit kissed his ear and ran his hand through Virgil's hair.

"Oh, just go for it D. He'll give in if you do," Roman shifted more of his neck to be available from his dress shirt and angled his head towards Virgil.

"Hey!" Virgil shot and tried to separate them, because Roman was so desperately and extremely right. Deceit ducked around his arm and bit Roman right in front of his face before he could stop them. Virgil winced and closed his eyes, but he could smell the blood and he already knew Roman had won. Deceit ran his nails across Virgil's head and drank appreciatively, looking significantly drunker when he pulled back.

"Holy shit," Roman muttered, looking dazed.

"Whoo!" Deceit shook his head. "That _is_ potent," Deceit pulled back and smirked, shifting out of Virgil's lap, and wrapping Virgil's arm around Roman, moving behind Virgil and laying his head on Virgil's shoulder. "Go ahead, love," He whispered softly, pushing Virgil's head down lazily.

"Go on, Virge, D knows when to stop," Roman goaded him forward again.

"Did you plan all this to get me to give in?" Virgil groaned, leaning in. Why all the schemes tonight, honestly?

"You would have given in eventually, you admitted it yourself. You just needed a little push," Roman smiled and Virgil bit him. Roman let out a soft gasp and held on to Virgil tighter. It was _extremely_ potent. It punched Virgil in the face with the first sip. It tasted so good it was unfair to his next twenty meals.

"You're probably right about that," Deceit smiled against his neck and kissed it. "Stop, darling," Deceit whispered sweetly after a moment. Virgil stopped drinking and let a little more venom flow before pulling back.

"Hecate, I think I remember some Spanish," Virgil shook his head in surprise after closing the puncture marks.

"Mm, I should have drunk _after _you. I'm slowly forgetting Danish," Deceit cooed.

"I'm not a language remembering machine," Roman rolled his eyes and lolled slightly against Virgil.

"Lay back, love," Deceit cooed to Roman.

"'Kay," Roman rolled off of Virgil's lap and on to the bed.

"Go get him his food from the fridge. You'll have to put it in a mug to nuke it. I still don't have plates," Deceit smiled against Virgil's neck and planted another kiss there before pushing Virgil off the bed. Virgil shook his head and blinked again, heading to the kitchen to go throw Roman's noodles in a mug to heat them up for him.

"Bring me water, too," Roman grumbled and shifted into Deceit who laid back after Virgil got up.

When Virgil got back with a mug of hot penne and a mug of cold water, he rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorway. He was so done and too drunk for this. Roman and Deceit were kissing gently as they laid back on the bed.

"If you two hate each other again tomorrow, I'm not helping pick up the bloody aftermath," Virgil groaned and shook his head slowly and bitterly.

"You think I'd kiss someone who didn't like me back? You wound me. Roman would have kissed me sober, if I would have stopped snarking at him long enough to let him," Deceit said, after pulling away stroking Roman's face.

"Pat's gonna be so jealous," Roman chuckled, looking absolutely dazed and nearly glowing with joy.

"Virgil's still extremely oblivious, don't bother," Deceit rolled his eyes. Virgil sat on the bed and held out the mugs for when Roman was ready to take them. Deceit helped Roman sit up and Roman reached for the mug of water first.

"Does Pat like D or something?" Virgil asked. Roman spit out his water laughing, and Deceit cackled wildly.

"That's an understatement, love. You should hear the ideas they have," Deceit cooed, wrapping his arms around Virgil's neck and kissing him softly. "They're just very shy as far as I can tell. I haven't spent enough time with them to know how I feel, but I can't say I'm not tempted by some of the scenarios," Deceit pressed another few kisses into Virgil's neck.

"Well, are you seeing D now?" Virgil asked, passing Roman the mug of penne.

"Were we not already seeing each other?" Roman laughed. Virgil shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Quit being a bastard and enjoy being drunk on Roman. Come cuddle me," Deceit held his arms open and Virgil huffed and laid back into Deceit's arms. Deceit laid down on the bed and enveloped him tightly, pressing kisses into his hair. Roman leaned against him while he ate his noodles, looking a little disheveled and extremely satisfied with himself. He was definitely blissed-out, missing every third giant bite of food.

"You got everything you wanted, didn't you, you sneaky mother fucker," Virgil looked up to Roman while Deceit affectionately nibbled his ear.

"Almost," Roman smiled lackadaisically and tilted a bit. "I'm still owed enough pancakes that I hate myself," Roman said offhandedly.

"And it will all be yours, my shimmering star," Virgil hummed in satisfaction and rolled to kiss Deceit back.

"You know… Roman's not on the phone anymore," Deceit whispered softly after a few kisses.

"You two need a cold shower," Roman chuckled, finishing his penne and laying back with them.

"We're _already_ cold, what would that accomplish?" Virgil looked at Roman with amusement.

"I wouldn't mind taking a shower with you, Virgil," Deceit raised his eyebrow salaciously.

"That's it, I'm laying between you two," Roman laughed and rolled over Virgil, sliding in between them. Virgil and Deceit smiled to each other and hugged Roman, planting kisses on either side of his cheeks.

"You think that's going to stop us, Princey?" Virgil whispered into Roman's ear and Roman shivered slightly.

"Be nice," Roman huffed.

"We can be very nice, thank you very much," Deceit smirked. "How _nice_ would you like us to be?" Deceit slid a hand in Roman's unbuttoned shirt.

"He really is an affectionate drunk," Roman muttered, leaning in for the kiss Deceit offered.

"And I'm a bastard, what's new?" Virgil chuckled. "It's just kissing," Virgil shrugged.

"It is? Skip your classes tomorrow, Virgil," Deceit pouted, looking over Roman to Virgil like a sad puppy.

"I'm not sending Ro alone, that's so rude. He's drunk and blissed out, it's not safe," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"So is not spending more time with me," Deceit pulled Roman closer, tugging Virgil with him.

"That is a conundrum," Virgil mused, tapping on Roman while he thought. "Don't you have clients tomorrow?"

"Fuck them," Deceit reached over for Virgil's hand and caressed it with his thumb.

"Gentleman, we're all drunk, let's not make plans for the next day," Roman rolled his eyes, but he looked extremely pleased. Virgil could relate.

"It's not that far until the next day, technically," Virgil mused, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Shit, then we need to get me to a waffle house, stat," Roman said resolutely.

"I suppose I will need a serious amount of black coffee to get you home soon," Virgil mused, nestling slightly into Roman's neck.

"That's not getting me to waffle house, Virgil," Roman laughed. Deceit nestled into his neck, too.

"Shh, you smell good," Virgil muttered.

"You'll wrinkle that silk gown if you lay on it too long," Roman said off-handedly and smirked at Virgil.

"Shit!" Virgil shot up and retreated to the walk-in closet right away.

"You really are a crafty one," Deceit cooed, and it sounded like they were kissing again while Virgil carefully hung the dress back up in its protective bag.

"That vest is silk, too, D," Virgil reminded him as he slid his earlier clothes back on.

"_Shh_," Deceit hissed and Roman giggled gaily from the bedroom.


	30. We Only Come Out at Night

Roman was on stage running through his lines with the rest of the cast. They were told not to put too much emphasis on delivery and focus on learning the script today, but Virgil knew that Roman already knew how he wanted to deliver it. Like Septimus was a scoundrel and he would run in through. Which wasn't unreasonable for the play, honestly. The action does get threatened, and all.

Virgil and Elliot were putting together a list of things they needed to go out and retrieve. Virgil thought a period-reasonable wallpaper would be nice, but finding one at a modern hardware store would be unreasonable at best. The plan was to check, but they weren't to get their hopes up and focus on grabbing the other supplies.

"I don't know if my car would _fit_ this stuff," Elliot muttered, looking over the list.

"Mine wouldn't either. How about we catch a ride over and rent one of those trucks to bring it all back?" Virgil said, leaning back on the floor next to Elliot. He looked over to the storage pile and fought the urge to go organize it again. If he didn't look at it he could pretend it wasn't a nightmare he longed to fix.

"Oh, can I use the truck afterword?" Mitchell perked up after a moment. Ugh, well, at least Virgil had something to hate more than the disorder in here.

"No, my insurance doesn't cover other drivers," Virgil glared. The only favor Virgil was doing Mitchell was not draining him and throwing the husk in a river.

"Ugh," Mitchell flopped back on the chair, returning to clicking around on the laptop in his lap.

"So do we want to make frames or just buy some?" Virgil asked curiously, getting back on the subject.

"It depends on if you can find some frames that are lightweight enough," Kai shrugged noncommittally. Virgil hummed in annoyance.

"Well, we shouldn't go into the store without a blueprint for the windows we want to use, in case there are no pre-fab frames that work," Elliot said a little meekly. Virgil raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm looking it up, don't get your panties in a wad," Mitchell clicked with his tongue and shot what only could be described as a smug glower over the top of his laptop screen.

"Oh, I thought you were just being a lazy asshole," Kai chuckled and picked up a packet of papers off the table, flipping his hair out of the way. Kai had dyed half his hair magenta to go with the teal since Virgil last saw him, and it was cool. Virgil wouldn't have thought those colors went together until Kai pulled it off. But Virgil's probably just pro dark colors and maybe other people liked them together, too.

"Any luck finding that last chair, yet?" Mitchell called out to the storage room. Three 'no's piped up from various areas of the room. If they would let Virgil organize the room after hours they wouldn't have this problem. Virgil chewed on his nail and glanced at the disorder again, bouncing his foot restlessly. "All right, I've got two options here of period stage window blueprints," Mitchell said, flipping around his laptop to show the others. There were some large square windows and high arched ones.

"I love the look of the arched ones, but they're probably too hard to make," Kai said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I think it's doable," Virgil shrugged. "We can get the arch pre-fabbed at a big hardware store. We just have to put it all together evenly. We don't have to make them perfect enough to actually fit window panes, just lined up properly,"

"Sawing an even arch in the plywood is the problem. We have to slot them into the backdrop," Elliot pointed out.

"I have a pretty steady hand. I just need a practice piece of plywood first. I haven't used a reciprocating saw in a little while," Virgil offered to try it.

"We don't have a reciprocating saw," Mitchell rolled his eyes. Virgil just raised his eyebrow at him.

"You have the sawhorses, right?" Virgil asked, glancing around the storage again. Ugh, it made him nuts in here when he wasn't doing anything about it. Even if he helped him look for the chair he'd be much happier. Virgil drummed his fingers on his thigh, miming playing a piano song he liked to pull his focus back.

"Yeah, We've got 3 or 4. They're in the outer storage, we're not allowed to get sawdust in here. Something about the ventilation," Elliot replied, motioning to the room with the back of their pen. Virgil reached into his hoodie pocket and squeezed Vladimir.

"So, the wood glue is dried up and we'll need some more. We also need more sandpaper and masks. And that practice piece of plywood for Virgil. We've got nails and staples for the staple gun already. We might need more eggshell for the windows, but probably just a pint or two," Kai said, and Elliot double-checked the list in their hands.

"You're seriously going to let him do the cutting? You've never seen him work!" Mitchell groaned, flipping his hand dismissively in Virgil's direction.

"He has extremely out there hobbies, dude. It's not that unbelievable he's used power tools before," Elliot muttered, shooting a nervous glance at Mitchell but mostly pretending to focus on the papers in front of them. "He could tune and fix the organ out there, at least, that's a trade skill," They added quietly and his eyes returned to actually scanning the paper.

"It's a surprisingly old organ, it's a shame nobody was doing maintenance on it," Virgil casually commented, lolling his head to the side.

"I think it was donated by a grandparent of an alumnus," Kai offhandedly offered in explanation. "Listen, if he fucks up too much on his practice piece, we have someone else do it. It's not that hard to actually confirm if he can without damaging the sets. Hell, he can pick up two practice pieces for other people to try," Kai rolled his eyes. "It's not like anybody here is a master carpenter," He added after a pause, flipping through the pages again and chewing on his lip in annoyance.

"Let's get the sundries stuff with the budget and just let Virgil cover all the wood and saw. Then we'll have plenty of money leftover for altering the costumes and making a new gown for Thomasina," Elliot suggested. Virgil shrugged, he didn't actually care if he paid for the whole thing or not, but he wasn't pushing it.

"Have somebody take my laptop and get these blueprints and the list of woodcuts to go get printed out in the printer lab," Mitchell said, closing his laptop lid.

"It's your laptop, don't you want to do it yourself?" Kai huffed, writing on the paper.

"I don't have the money for copies. Send Virgil," Mitchell shrugged with a little self-important smirk.

"I'll give somebody else the money," Virgil shook his head shrinking back.

"What, you can move a solid oak table alone but you can't walk to the library?" Mitchell rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue again.

"I'm not going in the printer room," Virgil objected, remembering how claustrophobic it was in that tiny room with the printers. It was also particularly bright today and he'd rather not go out until he had to go to the store.

"Afraid of printers or rabid seniors?" Mitchell asked derisively, grinning darkly.

"Don't be an asshole, Mitchell," Kai tried to shut Mitchell down, but he didn't seem fazed.

"But it's my most charming attribute," Mitchell crossed his arms. Drinking from Roman did not stop Virgil's desire to break Mitchell's spine and throw him off a roof. He's had that one a lot lately. Maybe he _should_ be drinking from Roman more. Not that vampires weren't naturally violent assholes in the first place. Virgil tried to shake it out of his head. "Of course it is," Mitchell hissed haughtily. Mitchell must have misunderstood the head-shaking motion.

"That was unrelated. I don't think you have _any_ charming attributes. I'll seriously give somebody $20 to go print it," Virgil called out to the room. One of the new techs, Seth popped out from behind a backdrop excitedly. Virgil liked his audition for Gus, but he seemed just as happy back here, unlike the other two. They would probably get over it, though.

"Is that including the printing cost or a separate $20?" Seth asked, quickly jogging up.

"Damn, Seth, I'll give you $40 if you're that desperate, take his laptop and print out the pages he's got open," Virgil pointed to Mitchell's laptop.

"Thanks, V!" He smiled and held out his hands for the laptop.

"I'll take it for forty bucks," Mitchell held his laptop close, not giving it up.

"The $40 offer is for Seth only,_ you'd_ get 5 bucks and a lollipop," Virgil smirked maliciously at Mitchell, resisting the urge to flash his fangs.

"You're a fucking prick, V," Mitchell glowered down at him, flipping Virgil off quickly.

"And I'm fine with that," Virgil reached into his wallet and pulled out $40 for Seth, who beamed like Virgil was his savior.

"Shit, how much do you have in there?" Elliot hissed in surprise when they caught sight of his wallet.

"Enough for the supplies," Virgil said dismissively. He grabbed some extra cash in case supplies got expensive.

"I think you can also order pizza for the whole theatre," Kai whistled, glancing at Virgil's wallet before Virgil slid it back into his pocket.

"Probably not that much," Virgil shrugged. That was a lot of college kids.

"V's ordering pizza!" Mitchell called to the room and got some cheers as he handed off his laptop to Seth. He shot Virgil a shit eating grin. Virgil just shrugged and pulled out his phone.

"What's the address here? Is this building E or F?" Virgil asked nonchalantly. He could pay for this digitally. He wasn't taking Mitchell's bait to try to make Virgil look like a prick to everybody else by backing down. He knew this bullshit well enough. He'd order it for everybody, too, not just crew. Virgil would not give Mitchell fucking room to try to make him out to be a bigger asshole than he actually was. Virgil was perfectly aware he was an asshole, but he wasn't allowing even an iota of it to be unearned. Deceit supports spite purchases even if Virgil didn't have the money.

"It's G, actually," Elliot provided. "Are you serious?" They glanced curiously between Virgil's face and his phone.

"Yeah, sure. Building D is next door. This campus is laid out so screwy," Virgil grumbled, punching in the address. "How many vegan pizzas should I get?"

"I think one vegan and one gluten-free," Kai suggested. "I think I remembered somebody having an intolerance," He added, tapping his chin and looking up.

"So three pepperoni, three cheese, one vegan, and one gluten-free?" Virgil confirmed.

"I think we're unintentionally throwing a party at this point," Kai laughed. "Get one specialty one, too. And some soda," Kai grinned.

'Hey, I've just been heckled by an asshole to buy pizza for the whole theatre and I'm not backing down. Does the cast want anything?' Virgil asked Roman mentally.

'Mitchell, again? What's his deal with you? God, throw him off a roof,' Roman thought back bitterly. Aw, same murder thought. How sweet.

'Yes, sir,' Virgil snickered quietly while he added things to the cart.

'I'm kidding. No murdering anybody in theatre. Shit, okay hold on, they're hounding me,' Roman thought, sounding a little panicked. Virgil could vaguely make out a cacophony from on stage through his headphones and felt bad for Roman.

"Don't be so smug about it, fucker," Mitchell whispered.

"I won't fall for those tricks and that _is_ a threat," Virgil whispered back, glowering at him. Mitchell looked surprised, maybe that Virgil could hear him, or maybe he wasn't used to being challenged. Virgil wasn't sure of anything other than the fact Mitchell's blood was just as red as the rest of Virgil's prey.

"Guys, cut it out," Kai rolled his eyes. It looked like he was going through the paper inventory again. Virgil exhaled in annoyance and tried to let it go.

'Okay, like 5 orders of breadsticks, lots of pepperoni, a supreme, some apps, and basically every kind of soda they have,' Roman thought back. 'Also I think they might have undying gratitude to you, someone out here looks like they're about to cry from relief. I heard someone offer their firstborn for cheese bread,' Roman seemed amused.

'College be like that sometimes. I'll let you know when they get here, do you have the cash to tip the delivery guy if I'm still at the store?' Virgil asked Roman in his head.

'Yeah, no problem Virgil. Aggressive altruism is your kink, I got it,' Roman's grin was almost audible in his thoughts.

'Speaking of, have I had any luck with Pat yet? They're still being kind of distant,' Virgil asked curiously.

'I think so. Mostly because Pat's so tired after work they're starting to get sick,' Roman thought.

'Shit, really? I feel so bad for them. Nobody tells me these things,' Virgil grumbled slightly.

'Because you're _aggressively altruistic_ and it scares people,' Roman thought back. That was probably fair. 'Maybe some venom would help them out,' Roman added teasingly.

'Enough shoulder-deviling out of you, that's Pat's choice alone, and we haven't talked about that yet,' Virgil huffed.

'I'm just saying,' Roman thought in a sing-song tone.

'You're talking to D too much,' Virgil sighed and started adding random appetizers. Somebody would probably eat chicken wings. They're college kids, somebody would take home leftovers of anything. He once saw a guy eat cold meat and bean chili on those fake nacho cheese chips for breakfast in the dorms. Virgil didn't get human food, but that couldn't have been all right. It smelled like death. Virgil had smelled some_ shit_ in his lifetime, but the 'food' in that styrofoam bowl still haunted his smell memory. And that fucker chased it with a fruit strip. Nightmare material.

'You're right, I am. You should order a Hawaiian and see if anybody throws down,' Roman thought back teasingly.

'I should have known to never put you two in the same room together,' Virgil rolled his eyes. He was interested, though. 'I'm going to do it,' Virgil added a large Hawaiian pizza to the cart. 'Don't tell anybody, I want to see how this plays out,' Virgil smirked inwardly at the idea.

'You shouldn't be allowed in the same room with him, either. If they do fight, we've got to record it, D would cry with laughter,' Roman laughed mentally. D actually might. 'Shut up now, we're getting back to running lines after you derailed rehearsal,' Roman thought, dismissing Virgil.

Virgil finished his order. It was pretty large and had way over two hours till it was even ready for delivery, which meant it would probably arrive after they finished running lines, and hopefully just in time for Virgil to get back.

"Back!" Seth called, jogging back up with a handful of pages and holding Mitchell's laptop tight. "Here's your laptop back," Seth passed it over and Mitchell took it sourly. Kai took the pages, separating the supplies and blueprints and handing off the page with the listed cuts to Virgil. Virgil scanned the paged and passed them to Elliot to slide on his gloves.

"It's not that cold out, you weirdo, why are you putting on gloves?" Mitchell pulled a disgusted face.

"They're my bitch slapping gloves. Did you want to volunteer to be the _bitch_?" Virgil hissed and glared intensely at Mitchell. God, he just wanted any excuse to rip that kid's throat out. It felt like Mitchell had been harassing him nonstop since auditions.

"All right, V's reached his Mitchell tolerance for the day, you guys are barred from each other when Virgil and Elliot get back from the hardware store," Kai rolled his eyes, holding out the papers he was holding between their glaring eye line.

"Fine by me," Mitchell shot. Kai pulled his papers back.

"I hope that means he can't have any pizza," Virgil smiled impishly and Mitchell scowled at him. Oh, that's the face of a man who would eat too much pizza out of _spite_. Virgil considered that a victory.

"Go buy wood you catty motherfucker," Kai groaned. Virgil shrugged and tilted his head to express he was letting it go and summoned a rideshare to head to the store.

"You ready to go, El?" Virgil stood up off the floor and held out a hand for Elliot. Elliot took it to get up with a small smile.

"Oh, I like the magenta, Kai. I don't think I mentioned it earlier when we got here," Virgil added, checking to see when the car would get near.

"Thanks. I like your ridiculously long wig. That thing must be heavy as fuck," Kai commented and pointed to Virgil's hair.

"I can head-bang with the best of them, now," Virgil chuckled. "The car's almost here, already. Let's get going," Virgil smiled and waved to Kai and scowled quickly at Mitchell before heading out of the storage room to go meet the car. Mitchel grimaced in return and flipped him off.

—

"I think I ate too much pizza," Roman whined, holding his stomach as they walked out of the theatre with Thomas.

"It did smell good. I lived vicariously through you tonight," Thomas chuckled a little bitterly. "Things got off track when the pizza got there, I never found out the set plans. What did you find?"

"We're making a new set backdrop with windows from a blueprint. There was no frames lightweight enough. Everything the store had was modern, anyway, and El and I didn't like that," Virgil lazily slid his hands into his pocket and glanced around in the dark. Other than other people exiting the theatre hall they were mostly alone.

"It's good you only have to make one backdrop, then, that will probably take a while," Thomas folded his arms and nodded.

"Yeah. Humans do stuff so slow," Virgil chuckled.

"It's a part-time club, Virgil," Roman rolled his eyes and lazily punched Virgil in the arm. "We can't all have vampire insomnia," Roman huffed angrily and threw up his arms in Virgil's direction.

"All right, that was unfair of me," Virgil apologized and planted a kiss on Roman's check. He paused because something felt off when he felt Roman's skin.

"What?" Roman asked, stopping. Thomas also stopped and turned around. Virgil reached up and felt Roman's cheek with the back of his palm.

"Hey, Thomas, does Ro feel hot to you?" Virgil asked, reaching out for Thomas's hand and putting it on Roman's forehead.

"Yeah, kind of. We're probably not the best judges, though," Thomas chuckled. Roman felt his face after Thomas dropped his hand.

"I feel normal. I also don't feel sick other than maybe one too many breadsticks," Roman said and rubbed his stomach lightly. "It's probably nothing," Virgil shrugged and wrapped his arm around Roman's shoulders and they returned to walking together, Thomas also resuming his walk with them.

"So what are you doing tonight?" Virgil asked, lazily petting Roman's shoulder.

"Oh, hanging out with Joan and Talyn. Maybe Remy and Emile if they decide to show up. Sometimes they do or don't. We're watching horror movies. Do you want to come? My couch is pretty huge," Thomas offered, slipping his thumbs in his belt loops as they walked ahead.

"That's a lot of people in one apartment," Virgil muttered. Roman slid his hand in Virgil's back pocked and leaned into his arm.

"Oh, yeah, claustrophobia. Sorry," Thomas said, sounding contrite.

"It's a shame you can't just rent out a theatre or something. That'd be cool," Roman mused, smiling at Virgil.

"I think Daddy Warbucks only pulled it off because it was the great depression and the theatre would have gone under, otherwise," Virgil laughed under his breath. "Nah, this last-minute the best I could do is a hotel suite or something," Virgil shrugged.

"Oh, that would be fun!" Roman grinned deliberately at Virgil, raising his eyebrows impishly.

"I'm not getting you drunk again, Roman, your inner evil siren comes out too much," Virgil groaned sourly, rolling his head.

"What did he do?" Thomas asked, sounding intrigued and raising his eyebrow.

"We got a video of Virgil and D doing a fancy Spanish bullfighting dance," Roman said proudly, shooting Virgil a mischievous grin.

"Among _other _things," Virgil grumbled under his breath.

"Oh, I want to see that!" Thomas said, and Virgil wasn't excited about how hopeful he sounded.

"Well, we haven't shown Pat or Specs, either. Maybe we _should_ get a hotel suite and we can show the video before watching some movies! It's Friday night, it's the best time for chilling," Roman suggested, still smiling like a kid who snuck a ton of cookies from the cookie jar.

"Hecate, please strike me down," Virgil moaned, running his hand through his hair.

"You _loved_ dancing with him, you dork," Roman smacked Virgil playfully and rolled his eyes.

"I did, but you guys watching is embarrassing. I didn't_ know_ any of those people at the parties and I cannot stress how drunk I was," Virgil grumbled, feeling incredibly self-conscious. "Going to parties where people were drunk was the best way to feed at the time," He added under his breath.

"It's fine, you love us. You'll deal," Roman dismissed him, fluttering his eyebrows flirtatiously. Virgil sighed dramatically.

"He does have an inner evil siren, huh?" Thomas laughed. "I'd be fine with switching to a giant TV at a hotel, just let me know if you actually want to and I'll ask Joan and Talyn if they're cool with that,"

"Hm, yeah, I do want to meet Joan and Talyn. May as well get it over with. At least I get to see some guts get ripped out to distract me from wanting to die in a fire out of mortification," Virgil sighed in resignation.

"Ugh," Roman huffed. "Your interest in the material is almost more disturbing than the content," Virgil took his hand off of Roman's shoulder and Roman separated so Virgil could open his phone to hunt down a large hotel suite.

"All that murder instinct has to go _somewhere_," Virgil chuckled as he started looking for roomy suites and large TVs.

"Being scared is half the fun, Roman. It's not real. I'm sure Virgil is happy to hold you if you get scared," Thomas said with a lilting laugh. Virgil smirked at Roman who rolled his eyes.

"Ro, invite Pat and Lo while I find someplace big enough for this," Virgil requested. Roman nodded.

"Cool, I'll see if Joan and Talyn are willing to move locations," Thomas said, sliding his hands into his pockets. Virgil watched him not get his phone out in confusion.

"Are you in a clan with them or something?" Virgil asked curiously.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Didn't I tell you? Joan's my sire," Thomas shrugged.

"Isn't Joan one of Remy's betas? I mean, I'm still cracking the Emoji code, but I _think_ he is," Virgil was pretty positive at least.

"Yeah, Remy's our alpha. Why do you think he hangs out with me sometimes?" Thomas laughed airily. "I don't think he'd give me the time of day otherwise, he's got lots of things going on," Thomas tilted his head considerately.

"He's a complete mystery to me. I couldn't assume his motivations for anything," Virgil said, almost in awe of the situation. "Wait, you're an omega?" He realized, looking up from his phone to Thomas in surprise.

"Yeah," Thomas said dismissively, sounding distracted. Probably still talking to his clan.

"Oh, that's why you seem to handle the sun so well," Virgil mused. "I was wondering about that. Omegas didn't normally survive that long back in the day, I don't see lots of them. It's mostly Betas out there," Virgil explained his confusion with the situation.

"Oh, thanks for that vote of confidence," Thomas said sarcastically and shot a grimace to Virgil. Virgil thought Thomas had a surprisingly similar face to Virgil's when he was grimacing.

"Things aren't as gut-throat as they used to be before bags got big," Virgil offered in consolation. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Remy seems like he'd throw down at the drop of a hat, he'd probably protect you," He added confidently.

"Don't you mean cut-throat?" Roman asked, looking kind of disgusted.

"No," Virgil and Thomas said in unison and Roman shivered.

"He would, Remy's super protective. It's just a little too real," Thomas said, sounding a little dour.

"Sorry, Thomas," Virgil pulled Thomas in for a side hug.

"Eh, I know you didn't mean _I_ wouldn't survive long. Thanks, though," Thomas shrugged, looking a little less upset.

"Why are omegas more at risk than betas?" Roman asked curiously. "Pat's down, they're trying to convince Logan to come out, by the way," Roman added, sounding eager.

"They're the closest to still being human. Fewer vampire weaknesses, but not as much of the strength either. A beta is kind of like three-quarters of a vampire and an omega is half. Metaphorically, anyway, it's a little more complex than that, physically. Lots of little trade-offs and things," Virgil tried to explain.

"So you can be in the sun and stuff?" Roman asked curiously.

"Yeah, I can get a little sun and be okay. I get less sick if I eat human food, but it still happens. Silver is more like a severe allergy. Still can sleep and stuff. I can't flit, just run fast. I'm significantly stronger and faster than a human, though, and I stopped aging. I do also need to breathe. Remy creeps me out when he stops," Thomas stuck out his tongue in distaste.

"Woah, Virge, you don't have to breathe?" Roman shot, looking and Virgil with wide eyes.

"I can go a few hours without oxygen, yeah. I don't stop unless I'm underwater, though. Remy's just weird, I think. There's no reason not to unless there's an awful smell," Virgil said, furrowing his eyebrows. Maybe he just enjoyed freaking people out?

"That's wild," Roman whistled. "That explains how you jammed with a mermaid," Roman muttered. "Thomas _is _safe, though, right?" Roman asked, looking concerned.

"It wasn't that long ago when territory stuff was a bigger deal. Technology made it easier to coexist and it's easier for omegas. Like I said, we're territorial bastards. Vampires don't normally get along in the same room, or square miles, after a while. Instincts start kicking in," Virgil shrugged dismissively.

"Wait, then why are we putting two clans together in a hotel room?" Roman stopped, looking extremely concerned.

"We'll probably just involuntarily hiss at each other at worst, Roman, don't worry about it. Remy and I can leave and duke it out until our instincts settle down. If the alpha's instincts settle down, the turned will, too," Virgil explained. It really wasn't a big deal as long as everyone agreed to be civil, and Remy seemed to like Virgil for some reason, so he wasn't worried about it. If anything, he looked forward to punching Remy square in the jaw.

"That's still terrifying as a human in the room," Roman shuddered. "Logan just agreed to it, though, so it's too late to back out," Virgil pulled in Roman's head to kiss it to help him calm down.

"Joan and Talyn are down. Remy said he'd probably show up, too," Thomas added cheerily.

"How about Emile?" Roman perked up.

"Emile says he wants to meet Virgil, so probably. He didn't respond, he's probably out of range. I'm just barely in range of Remy myself to use the link," Thomas shrugged.

"Pat would _love_ Emile," Roman smiled.

"As long as he keeps his psychoanalysis to himself," Virgil grunted in distaste.

"He's an amazing guy, V, don't be like that," Thomas huffed, flipping his hand.

"I'm sure he is, but I am a sleeping bear that doesn't like to be poked," Virgil grumbled. Roman patted Virgil's back, and Virgil wasn't sure if it was affectionately or patronizingly.

"He might be too busy screaming into somebody's chest to poke the bear," Thomas laughed. "Emile always eventually ends up shrieking cartoonishly and sometimes tries to hide in Remy's clothes,"

"Well, that's pretty damn cute actually," Virgil snickered a little. "D loves slasher films, and he probably wants to be there for accolades for the dancing video. Let me pester him, too," Virgil shot D a quick text and went back to his hotel hunt. He'd found 3 suitable options from the photos, but finding literal square footage for rooms is hard. They list the TV, sizes but not how big the room is. It's fucking dumb. He should just pick the one with the biggest TV and a surround system. It also had a hot tub that almost looked like a little pool, so the room was probably big to house that. Virgil placed the reservation and sent Thomas the address.

"Pat's mad we had pizza without them," Roman stated and smirked.

"We can pick up a pizza and salad for Logan on the way over. I just found one. We can head over there as soon as we pack some stuff from our dorm, and Pat and Logan are ready to go," Virgil said. "We can get pick up or just go to a grocery store. This room has a full kitchen," Virgil pointed out.

"Text me when you're checked in so we can come over," Thomas waved.

"Pick out something horrible for me," Virgil saluted him as he pivoted away.

"Are you going to flit us over?" Roman asked brightly.

"Three people? Are you nuts? I have only have two arms, Ro," Virgil groaned. "We took my car back from D's apartment, remember? I can just drive us there," Virgil said, flicking his thumb across Roman's cheek.

"No, I was half asleep and still kind of drunk," Roman chuckled. "I don't even remember getting back to the dorm," Roman added thoughtfully.

"That's because I carried your ass upstairs while you slept. Speaking of that night, _try_ to keep your evil temptations at a minimum tonight," Virgil warned Roman. Roman just pulled an innocent face at Virgil, clearly pretending to have no idea what Virgil was talking about. Virgil sighed and wrapped his arm back around Roman as they walked. Roman laughed and put his arm around Virgil's waist and squeezed slightly as they headed back to the dorms.


	31. Full Moon in Scorpio

"Jesus Christ Superstar, is this whole thing our room?" Roman asked, stepping into the hotel room in awe, looking around and taking a spin on the polished floors.

"It's just a step or two below a presidential suite or something. I don't know the lingo, I just needed a place with a big enough living room," Virgil shrugged. Roman called out to listen to his voice echo.

"Oh, my gosh, I have to sing in here," Roman declared, spinning into the living room and started singing A Whole New World from Aladdin. It echoed off of the marble enchantingly. Virgil waited and in the doorway, holding it open for Patton and Logan who took the elevator. Patton smiled and waved at Virgil when they turned the corner and Virgil waved back.

"A whole new world! A new fantastic point of view!" Roman loudly crooned as he danced around on the glinting tiles.

"Oh, he sounds so good!" Patton cooed as they stepped in, making a bee-line to the table to put their takeout food down. Virgil offered his hand to Logan when he strode up and Logan took it. They walked into the hotel room together, and Logan looked around with interest.

"This seems a bit much just to watch movies in, Virgil," Logan said after slowly examining the room.

"It'll be more comfortable for me, there will be lots of beings here," Virgil said and squeezed Logan's hand. "I don't suppose I can have a hug?" Virgil asked and Logan nodded. Virgil pulled Logan in and kissed the top of his hair gently. "You're sure you're okay being in the same room with all these vampires? I honestly don't mind taking you back to the dorms," Virgil reminded him. He was confused when Logan said he wanted to come. He'd be a lamb in a den full of super-powered wolves, but his curiosity was greater than his survival instinct, it seemed.

"I'm confident you wouldn't let anything happen to me. I find the entire event intellectually fascinating," Logan said, sounding excited and nodding brightly. Virgil heard Patton giggling and looked over to see Roman was dancing around the living room with them, now singing _Once Upon A Dream_. "I admit the concept is odd that I will be the only fully human person in the room, though," Logan didn't let go of Virgil and turned to watch the two dance around the suite. Virgil kissed Logan's temple affectionately and Logan nestled in, looking amused at Roman and Patton's antics.

"Let me go unlock the balcony and show them where to land. Feel free to claim a room, there's plenty. Just put a 'do not disturb' sign on the door and people should get the message," Virgil pointed to a small pile of signs on a side table under an ornate mirror.

"I look forward to utilizing the hot tub," Logan smiled and slid out of Virgil's arms, squeezing his hand before heading off to explore the hotel suite. Virgil headed to the balcony, passing Roman holding Patton princess-style and spinning around the room while Patton squealed in delight. Roman's voice echoing against the walls as he sang was captivating. He winked at Patton while he passed them and Patton giggled and stuck out their tongue playfully.

Virgil unlocked the large glass doors and stepped out on to the wide stone balcony. There was a sunken fire pit and a seating area out here, along with a small garden of flowers near the windows and a long thin pool. Virgil snapped a quick photo of the balcony and flitted up to the top of the hotel, taking a picture of the overhead. He jumped back down on to their patio and marked up the photo, then sent the two off to everyone else. The first one to come from above was Remy with Thomas over one shoulder and Emile over the other. He landed silently and put down Thomas and Emile, and Emile handed him a cup of iced coffee.

"Hecate, dude, you're not worried about getting attacked or something with your arms full?" Virgil asked incredulously.

"I don't _need_ to worry about that kind of stuff, babe," Remy set down a smiling Emile, and a very ruffled looking Thomas, who tried to fix his hair in the window's reflection as soon as he got down. He had one of those pocket flip combs that were popular in the 50s.

"Nice to meet you, Virgil! I'm Emile!" He beamed, holding out his hand for Virgil to shake. Virgil hesitated before shaking his hand. He wasn't used to doing it anymore. His old life was blessedly far away now. Emile's smile was very reassuring, and he had a kind face. He also had bubble-gum pink hair, which Virgil did not expect. It suited him, though. He was dressed like a dad in slacks and a soft tan cardigan. This being Remy's type was also something Virgil did not foresee.

"Hey," Virgil said nonchalantly. "It's good to see you again, Rem. I'm surprised we haven't had to beat the shit out of each other yet, considering how close I am to Thomas," Virgil motioned with his head to Thomas who was walking back over. He looked very put together and not like he had been lugged over a shoulder for a few miles. He wore a white button-down over a graphic tee and black jeans, which he admittedly looked fantastic in.

"I'm probably far enough from campus, we live in a condo downtown. We're out of range of little Thomathy most of the time," Remy shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "I'm still happy to for fun, though," Remy winked. "We'll have to tonight, anyway, with my other Blood here," Remy mused and Emile moved to lean against Remy on the wall. "Do you only just have the one turned? That's wild. I've got way more than Joan and Talyn, they're just the only ones that stuck by," Remy asked curiously, his eyebrow arched over his mirrored sunglasses.

"I don't keep track of them if we weren't romantically involved. I could have more, I don't remember," Virgil shrugged and shook his head.

"Are you feeding on your Brood yet?" Remy smirked. He dusted off his red leather jacket absentmindedly. Emile leaned affectionately into his arm and stole a sip of his coffee.

"Ro got me drunk and tricked me into it," Virgil grimaced a little as he joked. He was still a little bitter about it he agreed that perhaps he was being extra again.

"Darling, that's not what happened," Deceit purred, pulling Virgil in from behind right after he landed.

"He's right,_ Deceit_ tricked me," Virgil laughed more genuinely and angled his head to kiss Deceit. Deceit hummed happily as he flipped Virgil's hair out of the way.

"How's business, Remington?" Deceit asked, wrapping himself around Virgil and rested his head on Virgil's shoulder. His cane held in front of Virgil, resting under Deceit's hand with his normal level of class and panache.

"Very good, thanks. Made a shit-ton off your boy. You_ seriously_ wear a suit and bring a cane to movie nights?" Remy asked, motioning to Deceit incredulously.

"I'm not a savage," Deceit smirked and kissed Virgil's neck, tapping his cane on the ground dramatically.

"People think_ I'm _batty," Remy rolled his eyes and pulled his mouth to the side. "So, remember any fun memories now that you've gotten the good stuff?" He asked provocatively.

"Hmm, just some forgotten vocabulary and how to fish for some reason. I can't believe I ever fished," Virgil shrugged dismissively. He was hoping for something more fun, too.

"You were probably looking for an excuse to go out to sea and hangout with merpeople," Deceit laughed playfully and kissed his neck again.

"They know how to rock, what can I say? Their instruments don't work above water," Virgil said defensively, flicked at Deceit's side. Deceit dodged it with an evil grin.

"You might have been in a merperson band or something, I wouldn't put it past you," Deceit teased lightly. Virgil softened quickly as Deceit carded his fingers through Virgil's hair affectionately.

"Oh, _Hecate_, girl, that must of fucking hurt to grow," Remy said, possibly just noticing Virgil's hairstyle.

"My clan likes to heckle me and bully me into things," Virgil huffed, crossing his arms and slightly motioning his head to Deceit.

"You look so good with long hair. I think you should grow it longer," Deceit cooed and leaned in to press a kiss behind Virgil's ear.

"It's the least practical thing on the planet to have knee-length hair, D," Virgil groaned in objection, shaking his head.

"I'll get him to do it by the end of the night, just watch me," Deceit smiled impishly and nibbled affectionately at Virgil's neck. "Oh! Thomas! My Child!" Deceit released Virgil swiftly and picked up Thomas to spin him around in the air, holding him up with both hands.

"Did you adopt my omega without telling me?" Remy sipped his drink with a raised eyebrow, looking very amused at the baffled expression Thomas made.

"He's just so young," Virgil smiled affectionately. "We want to buy him things and spoil him," Virgil rubbed his hands together mischievously.

"He _is_ baby," Remy smirked at Thomas knowingly and he turned a little pink.

"I'm not _baby_!" Thomas groaned, jumping out of Deceit's arms and landing a few feet away from him on the patio.

"You have so many dads now, Thomas!" Emile clapped in delight. Deceit smiled wickedly and leaned against the wall.

"Emile, gross, don't call Remy my dad," Thomas rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, sticking out his tongue in distaste.

"Oh, _daddy_ is okay, though?" Remy grinned darkly and winked at Thomas, who blushed wildly and shot straight in an instant.

"I'm saying hi to Roman now, bye!" Thomas ran inside in embarrassment, causing Virgil and Deceit to cackle.

"He's so fucking cute," Remy chuckled and shook his head affectionately. "Babe, you should order room service. Joan will be thirsty and Logan will make Thomas thirsty eventually," Remy pat Emile on the butt. Remy cracked his knuckles. "We might also have a visitor," He added cryptically.

"What? I don't smell anybody," Virgil said, looking around frantically for any sign of another vampire.

"_Might_, babe," Remy smirked. "We'd win, it's whatever. I just really want to crack somebody's face in," Remy motioned a punch with his free hand and flashed his fangs.

"I keep wanting to throw people off roofs, so I'd love to do that if you'll share," Virgil said sinisterly, silently cracking his knuckles in his fist.

"Don't worry babe, I get it," Remy nodded sagely and sipped his drink.

"What vampire would be dumb enough to go where there are obviously two clans congregated," Deceit hissed, walking back behind Virgil and resting his head on Virgil's shoulder. "The smell here is _ridiculous_," Deceit said, and the repulsion in his voice was clear. It really _was_ bad. Virgil was ready to snap somebody's neck, the scent was so powerful.

"Maybe they want to fight and assume we're fighting and not just watching humans get murdered for sport," Virgil reached up to stroke Deceit's face. "Speaking of, are Joan and Talyn almost here?" Virgil asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, they're closing in," Remy took a long sip of his drink and set it down on the patio.

"Do you feel like working a little of this out now before everybody's here?" Virgil smiled viciously and flashed his fangs at Remy.

"Babe, you know it," Remy chuckled darkly and came at Virgil without hesitation. Deceit cleared away in a shot and Remy picked up and threw Virgil into the air, trying to go in for a kick, but Virgil grabbed him in the leg and tossed him back down to the ground, landing a hit with his knee on Remy's chest.

"Woah, _woah_, what the fuck guys?" Roman ran out yelling.

"They're just playing love," Deceit purred, pulling Roman into his arms and backing against the wall while Remy flipped Virgil and socked him right in the jaw. Virgil snarled and kneed him in the stomach, and Remy sent him flying again.

"That doesn't look like fucking _playing_!" Roman shot while Remy landed a kick in Virgil's back with a malicious laugh.

"I'm-" Virgil got hit in the chest and lost his breath, but punched Remy hard enough to send him sailing back in return. "Fine, Ro, we're just-" Remy came back and flipped Virgil onto the patio, knocking the wind out of him. Virgil had to catch himself before breaking the stones and used the momentum to launch Remy off the roof. Remy hissed and flung himself back at Virgil, and they both went tumbling and wrestling for dominance again. Emile cheered excitedly with his arms in the air.

"The playfight is making it easier to sit in the same room together, dear," Deceit kissed Roman's cheek. Deceit paused, looking confused, and then grimacing. "… Roman, you didn't tell Patton we are seeing each other, yet? They're freaking out for two reasons now. Logan has the good sense to keep them indoors, at least," Deceit sighed.

"Uh, whoops," Roman muttered, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Hey, Remy," a person an orange knitted cap landed on the balcony while Remy waved and connected another punch to Virgil's face. They were dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt with a big chunky watch. Virgil hissed and flipped Remy over, slamming his knee into Remy's solar plexus.

"Are they giving you trouble or is that Virgil?" A smaller person with bright lavender hair landed next to the one with the orange beanie. They wore a crop top, asymmetric shorts, and high boots and looked very fashionable compared to the other.

"That's Virgil," Deceit provided, looking like he was keeping Roman safely in place. Roman was scowling and sometimes pushing at Deceit to move his arms, but Deceit held him firmly, which Virgil was grateful for. Remy was enough of a handful as it is. The fight was evenly matched so far. They were both holding back but keeping like that when his throat was _right there _was difficult and he didn't want the distraction of one of his Brood in danger.

"Woah, Deceit? What the fuck are you doing here?" The person in the orange beanie asked, looking surprised and leaning back.

"I'm Virgil's Blood. Don't go advertising that," Deceit said disdainfully. "Darling, you'll need to stop soon and show Patton and Logan you're okay or they might actually have a panic attack," Deceit informed him plainly and motioned with his hand to the interior of the hotel.

"Shit," Virgil hissed, punching Remy in the back of the head. Remy spun around and his eyes flashed brighter red for a millisecond.

"Boo!" Remy whined, grabbing Virgil's shoulders and yanking him down over his kneecap. Virgil let that be the last hit and fell to the patio after Remy dropped him unceremoniously. He got up off the ground and dusted himself off. Remy laughed and patted himself off as well, going back over to pick up his drink. Patton came running out on to the veranda and immediately stared fussing over Virgil.

"Are you okay? Oh my god! Why did- Ugh! You're a meanie!" Patton shot angrily at Remy and glared at him before grabbing Virgil and surveying for damage. Picking a fight with a rival alpha vampire was not the best idea, but Virgil appreciated their spunk.

"I guess I should have been more clear on the way here," Virgil rubbed his head and pulled Patton in for a hug. Patton hugged Virgil tightly, pressing their face hard into his chest.

"Virgil, why in the world were you fighting like that? You terrified me!" Logan bellowed, pointing to Remy. Remy just rolled his eyes as he sipped his drink and Virgil cringed. Oh, he fucked up spectacularly.

"You didn't warn them?" Emile asked incredulously, furrowing his eyebrows at Virgil. "Virgil, apologize to your friends right now," Emile said angrily, motioning to Logan and Patton.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Virgil held up his hands, but Patton stayed clinging on. "I didn't know my heads up wasn't enough, I'm not used to talking to humans about this stuff. I didn't mean to scare you. Remy and I are fine. Claws and fangs were not involved," Virgil reassured them.

"I would have loved to sink my teeth into you," Remy huffed, sounding disappointed and glowering at Virgil.

"Me too," Another hiss broke out from Virgil which caused Patton to flinch slightly but not let go.

"Boys, I know the instincts are loud, but please focus," Emile said firmly and Virgil fought back a snarl towards Remy. Remy looked like he was doing the same. They probably didn't fight enough.

"Listen, Remy's an alpha. We're sort of wired for killing each other. It's what the whole_ territorial_ thing is about. We were blowing off some steam. I promise we're both fine. We didn't want this evening to devolve into a deathmatch. I'm sincerely sorry I wasn't more clear on what vampire instincts meant. I should have warned you more clearly we were going to fight to try to trick our wiring. I won't do it again," Virgil explained quickly, trying to apologize.

"Good job, Virgil. Patton, Logan? Do you have anything to say to Virgil?" Emile directed them.

"Don't scare me like that again!" Patton sniffled and Virgil pulled them up into his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Pat," Virgil apologized sincerely.

"I accept your apology, Virgil. Thank you for understanding. I would appreciate further information for the future so we can avoid these misunderstandings," Logan said, sounding stiff. Virgil grimaced slightly. He must have broken Logan's trust for him to talk like that again. That hurt, but Logan was willing to forgive him. It was entirely Virgil's fault, and he couldn't blame Logan for being upset.

"I know. Sorry, Logan. I forget what is and isn't common knowledge sometimes. Maybe you could prepare some questions for me?" Virgil offered sheepishly.

"I think that would be acceptable," Logan nodded, crossing his arms. He at least didn't look that angry, just upset.

"He _is_ battier than me," Remy rolled his eyes and gestured dramatically.

"Remington, you feed on me all the time. Virgil has been trying to respect his friend's boundaries. It's considerate of him," Emile chided Remy firmly.

"No, no, I'm batty, I know I am," Virgil laughed slightly, still too upset with himself to genuinely laugh.

"And Roman! When did you start dating D?" Patton said, pushing Virgil's chest. Oof. Pat's on the warpath. Virgil slid Patton down and Patton marched over to Roman sourly.

"Are they always like this?" The one in the orange beanie whispered to Thomas.

"I have no idea, but I'd kill for some popcorn," Thomas whispered back behind his hand.

"I, uh, the night we got the dancing video we were going to watch. I'm sorry, I was drunk and kind of forgot about telling you," Deceit smirked and kissed Roman's temple, releasing him.

"You were _drunk_?" Patton yelled, perhaps even more upset now, and stomped right into Roman's face. Roman held up his hands and backed up. Virgil was impressed at the amount of tiny fury Patton contained and was sincerely glad it wasn't aimed at himself anymore. He still felt bad for Roman, who looked completely blindsided by the whole event.

"Holy shit, this is better than a soap opera," The orange beanie-wearing vampire whispered.

"I know," The one with the lavender hair whispered back, looking incredibly bemused.

"I didn't get cast as Semptimus or Bernard because of some stupid rule about freshman not playing leads and wanted to have fun instead of moping all evening," Roman explained himself defensively, holding up his hands. Logan also looked upset at Roman, which was surprising.

"Roman, you are_ eighteen_, that's illegal!" Patton shot, pointing a finger at him assertively.

"I'm pretty certain most of the people out here are illegal, that doesn't make their existence wrong," Roman said warily. Oh, wow, he could almost hear a sports commentator shout 'powerful misdirection by the defense'!

"Huh," Logan looked considerate for a moment. "I suppose you're right," Logan moved up one of his crossed arms to his chin with interest.

"Logan, don't you _agree_ with him!" Patton said angrily, shooting Logan a glower.

"Patton, the laws are created for those in power, not necessarily with the best interests of every being in mind. There are plenty of unjust rules. As long as Roman doesn't make a habit out of it, I don't think it's significantly more objectionable than Virgil's very presence in human society, which you are fine with," Logan explained evenly. Oh, the misdirection landed! Fantastic play by the defense! Deceit arched his eyebrow curiously at Virgil who just shrugged. He had very little control of what was going on up there and had little explanation for it. Roman made him watch the Olympics recently, so that may have contributed, but he had long since accepted that he was batty.

"Thanks? I think?" Virgil responded, but he was not entirely sure what was happening.

"Damn, this kid should do law," The one with lavender hair whispered in awe. Patton made a frustrated noise and Deceit pulled them close and spoke quietly right into their ear.

"Young man," There was a chorus of sputtered laughter at that angry declaration from Patton. "Don't think I forgive you for being an accessory to Roman's crimes," Patton huffed, sounding less distressed.

"His _crimes_? Darling, please, he had some whiskey. It's a forgivable offense. You're upset because you don't want him to hurt himself," Deceit corrected Patton and took their hand. That assuredly wasn't the complete story, but Patton must want to keep it private.

"I-" Patton cut themselves off quickly. "I am," Patton muttered, drooping slightly.

"It's reasonable to be scared for your friend's health, Patton. It's okay that you're angry at him for taking unnecessary risks. But Roman was with people who love him and surely made sure that he was safe, right?" Emile asked gently.

"Of course, we made him drink a ton of water and he had two dinners. Roman was barely even hungover the next day," Virgil attempted to placate Patton. Roman really did have so many pancakes he hated himself and a serious amount of water.

"I wasn't!" Roman piped up and corroborated Virgil's story, sounding hopeful.

"It was a misunderstanding, but I think it would be healthy to apologize to each other, anyway," Emile smiled reassuringly and nodded to Roman.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Pat," Roman apologized dejectedly. He sounded very sincere and looked down to the patio.

"And I'm sorry I yelled," Patton muttered back, walking over to hug Roman. Roman wrapped his arms around Patton and pet their hair. They both seemed much better already, and that impressed Virgil. Roman was the type to fume, and Patton rarely let things go easily.

"Great! Let's go watch movies, yeah?" Emile chirped brightly, motioning with both arms to head inside. Okay, wow, having him around was actually pretty awesome.

"Thanks, Emile," Virgil sighed in relief.

"Anytime, Virgil! Especially during my office hours!" Emile chimed with a knowing smile aimed directly at Virgil.

"Ugh!" Virgil groaned loudly in objection. Hopefully, he'd drop it.

"Uh, well, that was a fucking event! I'm Joan," The one in the orange beanie provided.

"I'm Talyn," The lavender haired one added.

"I like your hair, Talyn," Patton said shyly.

"Thanks, I think you're rocking that pastel rainbow, too," Talyn offered. Patton blushed slightly. "We both use they/them," Talyn motioned between themself and Joan.

"I do too," Patton smiled.

"Roman, he/him. Glasses over there is also he/him," Roman said, holding open the door for everybody to go inside.

"My name is _Logan_," he narrowed his eyes at Roman but seemed to let it go. "Virgil, are you feeling anything different today?" He asked mildly.

"I'm don't have any feelings about it at the moment," Virgil shrugged. "Whatever you want to call me," Virgil walked in and settled on the floor in front of the couch. Patton crawled up behind him and started playing with his hair again. Deceit quickly claimed Virgil's lap with a smug smile.

Roman examined a pile of movies left on the coffee table and Logan went to the dinner table and pulled out his food to eat, though he angled himself to watch the TV. Roman flipped through the movie cases with a disgusted look while Remy flopped on the couch, leaning against the arm and pulled Emile into his lap. Thomas sat next to Patton and Joan and Talyn claimed the recliners next to the couch.

"Pat, don't you want to eat your pizza while it's hot?" Virgil asked. He wasn't bothered by Patton playing with his hair, but didn't want Patton to forget about their food.

"Just let me do _one_ hairstyle first," Patton said, very focused and tugging at Virgil's hair. Patton was excited about the pizza, so Virgil was vaguely flattered that they'd rather play with his hair.

"Did you want to watch one of these movies first or would you like a few minutes of Virgil and Deceit fancy-dancing? Patton and Logan have been wanting to see it. I only just finished editing it today," Roman asked the room, holding up the movie cases and a USB drive.

"Show us the fun dance that Virgil's so embarrassed about," Remy smirked. Virgil shot Remy a glower, but he just looked amused. Emile looked very interested as well, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah, that's chill. Then I want to see the one with the ghosts," Joan piped up and shared his opinion.

"Nice," Roman nodded and slid the flash drive into the side of the large TV. "You think I can see the TV from the hot tub?" He asked curiously as he came around for the remote.

"Babe," Remy said stoically, looking intense. "Yes. Let's fucking hot tub," Remy said keenly, picking up Emile. He put Emile down on the couch and headed over to the hot tub. Emile chuckled and scooted closer to Virgil.

"I will wait until an hour after eating," Logan said, enjoying a slice of pizza.

"Will you be able to hear through the jets?" Patton asked as Roman trotted off to his bag.

"It's fine if I can't. I've heard the music before, I've watched it a million times editing it," Roman said, pushing the big button near the hot tub and turning on the bubbles. Roman waved his swim trunks and disappeared into one of the doors in the suite. Remy just stripped down on the spot and climbed in, looking very satisfied as he sank into hot water.

"Did you want to play with some, too, Emile?" Patton's bubbly voice came from behind Virgil, and it felt like they were offering a handful of hair to Emile.

"It sure does look fun. Would that be okay with you, Virgil?" Emile asked considerately, sounding fascinated.

"Sure, whatever," Virgil shrugged. He felt Emile's hand take a section of hair and it felt like he started working with Patton on a style. Patton would poke Virgil's head sometimes and hair would tug near the last poke. He wasn't positive of exactly what they were up to, but Patton seemed to be entertained, so he was happy with it.

"It would be more fun if you had more of it," Deceit enticed him in a sing-song tone after pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Are we tempting Virgil out there? I want to join you!" Roman shot out of the bathroom and slid across the floor to lean against Virgil, looking extremely mischievous in his swim trunks. The smoothness of that move was for a human would have impressed Virgil if he wasn't so annoyed. He narrowed his eyes at both of them.

"Virgil would look _fetching_ with more hair, wouldn't he?" Deceit said sweetly, stroking Virgil's face.

"Oh, he would be _dazzling_," Roman said affectionately and smiled flirtatiously at Virgil, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.

"You have the weirdest clan, dude," Joan said, leaning back on the recliner, looking up from their phone. Virgil sighed and shrugged. "Put the fancy dancing on already," They motioned to the TV.

"Virgil, can you turn it rainbow without feeding? The braids would look so cool," Patton asked eagerly while Roman got up to grab the remote for navigating to the video.

"Yeah, hold on," Virgil said, leaning forward to get up, but Deceit pinned him on the spot.

"Make it longer while you're at it," Deceit smirked, planting a small kiss on Virgil's jaw.

"For the love of- Fine, okay? I'll lengthen my hair. Ro?" Virgil gave up and looked over to Roman. He was participating in this ridiculousness and may as well help out.

"As if that wasn't my plan all along," Roman grinned impishly. Virgil got up, a very smug and satisfied looking Deceit clearing away so he could. Virgil went over to the mirror and turn his hair rainbow colors and grow it out with an exasperated sigh. The rainbows looked completely preposterous, and the length wasn't rational in the least, but if it made them happy then he could get over it.

"You weren't kidding about your clan heckling you, huh?" Thomas sounded bemused.

"Thank you, Logan, for not participating in Roman and Deceit's _evil nonsense_. Roman, please order some room service with vegetables, no matter the amount of pizza you ate you'll need nutrients," Virgil exhaled with exhaustion as he pulled the last of the hair out he could manage.

"You're welcome," Logan smiled knowingly and tapped off his mouth with a napkin. "Can I take your spot, Deceit?" He asked genially.

"I suppose," Deceit hummed, sitting up on the couch next to Patton instead. Virgil reclined back down on the floor in front of Patton and Emile. He tiredly motioned for Roman to press play. Logan relaxed into Virgil's lap, much to Virgil's surprise, as the video stared up. He was fiddling with his bracelet with one hand but latched on to Virgil with the other. It was nice that Logan was feeling huggy today. Virgil happily pulled him close and enjoyed Logan's warmth.

Honestly, they did look good dancing, and Roman did an amazing job recording them. His dress was beautiful to see from another angle, too. It didn't make it any less embarrassing, though. Virgil opted to close his eyes and just focus on the sensation of Patton's fingers resting on his head while they watching the video. They were too enthralled to keep braiding and kept squealing with delight as Deceit threw Virgil around the room. Even Thomas gasped at one point. Deceit felt so proud Virgil could feel it over his shield.

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed with your athleticism since you are literally another species, but I do compliment you on your skill," Logan said, sounding somewhat mesmerized with the video.

"That was awesome," Thomas said reverently. "Worth the wait!" Thomas cheered as the recording ended and Deceit requested Patton to thank him later.

"Thank you!" Patton rejoiced, raising their arms in the air.

"It was gay as fuck. I just want to take you dancing even more now," Remy nodded, sounding hyped. Patton bristled much less than usual behind Virgil and hopefully was finally getting used to cussing.

"There was great on-the-fly choreography," Talyn mused, and Virgil was surprised at the genuine compliment from a stranger.

"Uh, thanks," Virgil mumbled. He wasn't entirely sure how to process that.

"Why thank you," Deceit bowed slightly on the couch.

"That was so _cool_! Can I have a copy of the file?" Patton asked enthusiastically, putting their hands back in Virgil's hair.

"Indeed! you can borrow that flash drive," Roman replied airily from the hot tub.

"Thanks again for editing, Roman. Please keep it offline, Pat," Virgil said firmly, turning his head slightly to shoot Patton a glance.

"Virge, you just got to change inputs to the blu-ray and press play," Roman explained quickly. "I already put in the thing with the ghosts on the player, it's all ready," He melted down a bit into the hot tub, looking very satisfied with himself.

"Woo!" Talyn cheered, holding up both their arms.

"Fucking nice," Joan pumped their fist. "The dance was cool, too. All the flips rocked," They nodded sagely and grinned.

"I want to learn how to do a ballroom dance now," Thomas said dreamily.

"I have to teach stupid _Anton_, anyway. Maybe Virgil and I will just offer to teach whoever wants to learn," Roman considered sourly. "Better than teaching Anton alone… Remy, are you naked?" Roman asked incredulously, looking over and shooting his eyes up quickly.

"You're welcome," Remy smirked. "Emmy, babe, are you joining me?" Remy flipped his hand towards Emile.

"I've never played with hair this long!" Emile said defensively. "And I didn't bring my suit, and I don't know half the people here well enough for that," He added slightly more sheepishly. It felt like he kept going while talking. Emile must have been really into it. Logan leaned to the side to look at what the braiders were doing behind him. He seemed satisfied and nestled back in again, still fidgeting with his bracelet.

"I can't resist, either," Patton chuckled. Virgil's head was being braided or plaited or possibly weaved into something by Patton and Emile together, Virgil couldn't tell. But he was kind of too tired to care. He was very comfortable with Logan and everyone in his clan was feeling some variation of good, so even though he was exhausted he was extremely contented. He sighed happily as Logan leaned his head against Virgil's to watch the movie.


	32. A Noise Severe

Virgil sighed with relief as the film came on, pressing his back into the base of the couch as he relaxed. He had been looking forward to some pleasant murder since Thomas first mentioned it. Virgil hummed a deep, satisfied noise as Logan shifted to get more comfortable in his lap. Virgil wrapped his arms around Logan and enjoyed his company. Logan continued to mess with his bracelet but leaned into Virgil happily. Logan didn't normally do public displays of affection, but Virgil wasn't complaining.

Emile and Patton split half of Virgil's head each, and he didn't understand what was happening back there. There was lots of tugging at angles that made little sense for their braiding bonanza. He was happy as long as they were vibing and that Emile wasn't pestering him. The others in his clan felt content. Roman was extremely satisfied in the hot tub. He was one with the bubbles. Deceit may have been cuddling Pat, Virgil wasn't able to turn his head to check with the bubbly duo doing something strange to his hair. Virgil nuzzled into Logan's neck while the intro to the film played out.

"Do you like horror films, or are you just here for scientific curiosity?" Virgil muttered into Logan's neck, taking in the aroma that smelled particularly enticing after growing more hair for his shoulder demons' amusement. He was perfectly aware he was torturing himself, and he did not give a single fuck. One benefit of being as old as shit is good self-control, even if he was batty as shit.

"For both," Logan smiled and whispered back. "Horror films are fascinating. I enjoy critically examining the themes and the psychological tricks and tactics meant to instill fear in people who aren't in any real danger," He explained cordially, flipping a bead on his bracelet.

"That is another cool thing about horror films," Joan mused, not taking their eyes off the screen.

"I just like the screams and blood," Talyn smirked, looking extremely amused. Virgil thought Logan might have had a reaction to the obvious bloodlust, but he seemed just as happy as before as he reclined in Virgil's lap.

"There's one less mental voice in here than there should be," Deceit announced suddenly behind Virgil. There was a pause in which everyone in the room stared at Deceit.

"What?" Thomas asked, looking incredibly baffled out the corner of Virgil's vision.

"I can't hear one of you. Joan, I think? What's your gift?" Deceit inquired curiously, shifting on the couch behind Virgil.

"Oh, you have a telepathy type gift?" Thomas looked intrigued and leaned in Deceit's direction.

"Not exactly, I know people's genuine feelings. Near Virgil, I passively hear thoughts. It's a bit of a nightmare even if it is useful, so I'm always curious about gifts that prevent mine," Deceit explained, affectionately nudging Virgil's shoulder when he was mentioned.

"Oh, that _does_ sound annoying. I've got negation. It's a boring one. I cancel out gifts and near Remy, I can also negate physical blows. It's killer for fights, but other than covering Remy's territory we're barely in any conflicts," Joan replied passively, watching the screen.

"I know, it sucks," Talyn whined emphatically. The sheer blood lust from them was surprising, but Virgil could relate.

"Roman probably has the coolest gift for both general use and battle," Remy mused, splashing at the water. Virgil's eyes shot to Remy in pure confusion. Roman's look mirrored Virgil's bafflement and breathless intrigue.

"What?" Virgil and Remy both faltered at the same time, staring at Remy.

"It's better to tell you _now_, before you set a bed on fire… you've got pyromancy," Remy said blithely, flicking some water in Roman's direction.

"Wait, what the fuck? How do you know?" Roman demanded, splashing his hand down in the hot tub.

"Mine's premonition. It's also annoying. I lose track of which reality I'm in sometimes," Remy explained. Wow, no wonder he was an already batty for a younger Alpha with a Brood. He heard Deceit hum in agreement behind him.

"Please, if I had future manipulation I'd use it constantly," Deceit said flippantly, and the couch shook Virgil.

"Can we get back to the part where I have freaking fire powers?" Roman demanded loudly, sounding shocked and splashing both hands on top of the water surface.

"I can't believe you're not interested in how you set a bed on fire," Remy laughed boisterously, lazily splashing Roman in return.

"He's an idiot, I'm sure it has something to do with that," Virgil joined Remy's laughter, much to Roman's disdain.

"Oh, it might still happen," Remy said smugly, winking at Roman.

"Try to use it!" Patton cheered excitedly from behind Virgil, yanking hard on his hair.

"Do not use fire in chemically treated pool water," Logan insisted hastily, pointing at Roman.

"Yeah, also not indoors," Virgil chuckled and shook his head affectionately, stroking Logan's arm.

"Hey, shut up, the horror part is finally starting," Talyn hissed in protest to their nonsense. Roman made a variety of upset sounds, but gave up for now and settled on being extraordinarily elated, bobbing in the hot tub.

"Oh, awesome," Virgil looked back to the TV in anticipation.

'Pat, how do you use your gift!' Roman mentally shouted, splashing more water as he begged Patton for answers.

'Ro, no yelling,' Virgil huffed and shot a glare to Roman. Patton paused with braiding. 'He's got premonition powers, we don't know if you have them_ now_,' He rolled his eyes at Roman who glowered back for a second, but he was apparently too excited to stay mad.

'Maybe I get it this evening! Come on, feed on me,' Roman goaded Virgil on, and as wonderful as that sounded right now he had higher priorities.

'I'm watching a movie, I need to see somebody's freakin' throat get ripped out before I go mad,' Virgil thought to them desperately. The smell inside the suite was intense.

'This is a_ ghost _film, Virge, I doubt there's throat-ripping,' Roman thought irately.

'Don't I have enough thoughts to deal with in my head right now without these extras?' Deceit made a dissatisfied noise behind him and bopped Virgil on the head with his cane, probably because he couldn't reach Roman in the hot tub to do it to him. Virgil sighed inaudibly, and Logan leaned back to look at Deceit in confusion.

'I want to know!' Roman shot mentally, the water sloshing around him as he vibrated angrily.

"Babes, quit harassing your alpha or he's going to attack me," Remy groaned, splashing water at Roman forcefully, a small amount of excess water landing on the tile around the hot tub.

"Sorry," Virgil huffed and blew a little loose hair out of his face, grinding his teeth. Roman sighed and sunk into the hot tub bitterly. Logan shifted to angle more towards the movie in interest but didn't stop playing with his bracelet.

"Emmy, get me something from the minibar," Remy grunted sourly, beckoning at Emile. Emile hopped up from the couch, dropping a handful of tresses over Virgil's shoulder. He walked over to the black mini-fridge with a clear door, considering the options before grabbing a few nips of vodka. Emile went to the hot tub and dropped them in Remy's outstretched hands. Virgil could feel Roman's frustration, and Patton made a concerned noise. Deceit sighed again, sounding excessively disgruntled.

"Logan, love, can I go handle this?" Virgil whispered into Logan's ear and stroked his arm in consolation. Logan nodded and shifted off of Virgil's lap, climbing up to sit next to Deceit on the couch. Virgil felt his hair was half-braided in certain parts, and it felt odd when his hair swayed as he got up off the floor. He went over to the hot tub and twisted his hair into what was possibly the most lopsided bun in existence. After stripping to his boxer briefs, he stepped in next to Roman.

"Cute tats, Virge," Remy smirked, looking Virgil over as he settled into the hot bubbling water. It felt a little wrong. It surprised him how relaxed Remy seemed in here.

"Thanks," Virgil nodded and sat behind Roman. 'Ready?' He confirmed with Roman mentally, pulling him into his arms on the hot tub bench.

'What, right now? Here?' Roman looked appalled at the very concept of Virgil doing what Roman urged him to do a literal moment ago.

'You're throwing a clan-wide hissy fit and _demanded_ I come over,' Virgil stared intensely at Roman.

'There are people here,' Roman motioned to the room just barely above the water, looking embarrassed.

'You're seriously shy _now_?' Virgil glowered at him irately.

'It- I just don't think it's _appropriate_ around others,' Roman thought nervously, looking around the suite with concern.

'Do you want to venom, or not? I'm tired, I'm thirsty, my body wants to punch the guy next to us, and I'm missing a horror movie,' Virgil loosened up on Roman and leaned back in the hot tub, giving Roman his space to decide.

'It's, well, it feels…' Roman turned beet red and sunk partially underwater.

'I will stick his fangs in your neck myself!' Deceit shot them both a glare and motioned threateningly with his cane.

'Your coconspirator is not a fan of all these extra thoughts,' Virgil looked critically at Roman. Roman sighed and reached around to hold Virgil, shifting into his lap. He exposed his neck and tapped on Virgil's shoulder. Virgil bit down into Roman's skin and the rush of fiery blood hit his dry throat like a holy blessing. Finally,_ some good fucking food_.

'You are incorrigible,' Deceit thought. Virgil didn't quite care at the moment. Roman tasted too fucking amazing. He was thirsty from the hair growth and smelling Logan's neck wasn't exactly making it better. Virgil got in a few good long drinks before Deceit tapped his cane on the floor. He took that as a sign that he tapped out Roman and sealed the wound. Virgil leaned back in the hot tub with Roman still in his lap, laying against him in a daze. Virgil turned back to the film, feeling very satisfied and rejuvenated by the fresh blood.

They all watched in what was probably very blessed semi-silence for Deceit since he finally relaxed back into the couch and went back to watching the flick. He pressed partially against Patton with a pleased expression. Logan was watching the movie with a vested interest, leaning forward on his legs. The tension in the film was building, and the attack was imminent at this point. Virgil waited with bated breath for some violent action.

When the ghost made its move, Patton and Emile shrieked from the couch, clinging on to each other for dear life. Deceit cackled in delight. Thomas shook his head and chuckled, and Remy looked extremely amused. Talyn watched with unparalleled interest, and Joan leaned back and smiled. Roman didn't have much of a reaction, probably because he was facing away from the film and blissed out. Virgil's instincts near Remy were still on edge, but he felt a little more in control with blood and some lovely brutal murder.

Virgil was certain Roman fell asleep while they were watching, which didn't seem like the best idea in a hot tub. The movie is back to them dealing with the terror over actual terrors, so Virgil hopefully had a minute before there was any more gore. Virgil carried Roman out of the hot tub and dripped his way to the bathroom to towel off the water.

There was a giant standing shower with a bench he propped Roman up against to dry him with a towel. The food should be here soon, so having to wake up Roman to eat conflicted Virgil. Obviously he needed the nutrients since Virgil just fed, but Roman also kept staying up too late and needed the rest. That was probably why he got sleepy when he lost a bit of blood. Virgil shouldn't have fallen for their pestering and made Roman fall asleep in the middle of a movie party with other vampires Virgil didn't fully trust.

Virgil sighed and opted to let him nap for the time being. The guy slept like a rock to be capable of sleeping through this, but Virgil tried to be light and gentle nonetheless. He dried Roman off carefully and picked one of the empty rooms to lay him on a bed. He tucked in Roman, leaving him laying on a towel so his swim trunks wouldn't soak the sheets. Roman was still feeling warm from the hot tub, But Virgil laid a towel over him, anyway.

He went back into the living room and slid his clothes back on to rejoin the movie, though he left his leather jacket on the back of the couch. Patton, Emile, and Logan were now all under blankets on the couch. He had no idea where ever they ran off to find them since Virgil wasn't gone that long. One of the closets they found earlier could have been a linen closet? Logan would have known, probably, considering he ran around checking everything when they first got here.

Virgil moved to sit back on the floor in front of Patton, but they caught his shoulder. Virgil looked to Patton, and they shook their head and pointed to the spot next to them and looked scared. Virgil chuckled and sat down, letting Patton burrow under his arm, holding on tight to Virgil's torso. Deceit leaned against Virgil affectionately on the other side. Logan seemed happy with his space, for now. He watched the movie tensely while his hands gripped his knees.

Room service arrived a short while later, and Emile looked ecstatic to have an excuse to look away from the film. Patton also finally left the couch to eat the dinner they intended to at least thirty minutes ago. They both looked like they were watching with wide eyes from across the table as they ate, though. Virgil got up from his seat and went into the bedroom to grab Roman.

Roman was sitting up on the bed looking dazed when Virgil came into the room. He rubbed his face and seemed lost, furrowing his eyebrows, and didn't notice Virgil enter. Virgil frowned in concern as Roman spaced out.

"Shit, are you okay Roman? Did I take too much?" Virgil stressed, hastily moving to Roman's side next to the bed.

"Oh, Virge. No, I'm just-" Roman yawned widely and covered his mouth. "-still kinda feelin' it other than being tired," He ran his hand through his hair and blinked a few times.

"Well, the food's here if you want to change and come eat," Virgil offered his support. Roman took it, and Roman was oddly warm to the touch. "I think you were in that hot tub too long, you're still pretty warm," Virgil muttered.

"I feel dandy, I'm just a little out of it," Roman said cheerily. "Get out of here so I can change," Roman pointed to the door lazily and Virgil helped him off the bed before leaving back to the couch.

Virgil returned to his spot in between Logan and Deceit. Deceit cuddled up to him immediately. It looked as if Virgil had made it back just in time because murder: part two was gearing up. The swelling of the background music and the close zoom of the camera attracted Virgil's interest right away. Virgil heard Roman come out and sit at the table with the others, and it relieved him Roman was finally eating. Plus, there was blood everywhere on the screen. Roman quietly uttered a disgusted noise, but there was a splash from Remy leaning forward excitedly and the other vampires all tensing for the kill.

There was a collective sigh as the remains of the foolish homeowner collapsed on the ground. Deceit nodded slightly, maybe to someone's thoughts. Virgil leaned into the couch happily and Deceit played with the hair at the base of his neck, also relaxing again. They watched out the rest of the film quietly. Patton and Emile must have been too tense to return to the couch because they never moved, but eventually, Roman came back and laid in Deceit's lap.

When the movie was over, Roman got up to flip through the other movie disks with a curious hum. He still looked very satisfied, but less out of it while he examined the cases.

"Alright, what are you feeling next? Castle of Terror or Mystery of the Marquis?" Roman said, holding the two movie cases up to see.

"What are the descriptions?" Deceit asked lazily, nestled under Virgil's arm. Roman flipped over the case to read it.

"Castle of Terror has the phrase 'murder frenzied' on it," Roman supplied, grimacing slightly.

"Sold!" Virgil and Remy both called out at the same time.

"Aw, but Mystery of the Marquis is supposed to have neck ripping," Talyn whined, opposing their selection with some extraordinarily pertinent information.

"That one!" Deceit blurted out eagerly.

"_Yass_, bitch!" Remy cheered, also changing his mind.

"We can watch all three, we have the room all night and none of you sleep," Roman chuckled and shook the cases at them.

"Logan would go to bed earliest, hand him the cases and let him pick the next one," Virgil suggested, pointing to Logan.

"I will stay up tonight. It would be hard to sleep. There is an unsettling intermittent crawling sensation up my spine," Logan supplied, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Logan," Virgil frowned. Perhaps he should offer to take Logan back to the dorm again.

"I would have stayed awake even if there wasn't some kind of strange prey instinct occurring," Logan shrugged dismissively. Roman passed off the cases to Logan to make his choice, anyway.

"Ugh, I relate. The feeling on my neck is getting a little weird," Patton agreed, rubbing their neck with a perturbed expression.

"I think the Mystery of the Marquis would be a superb choice," Logan decided, holding up the case. Roman nodded and took both disks back and loaded up the movie. Remy got up and climbed out of the hot tub to go dry off, walking across the room confidently.

"Emmy, babe, feed Joan before the next movie," Remy waved as he disappeared into the bathroom doorway. Emile stood from the table and dropped himself into Joan's lap with a bright grin.

"Come here often?" Emile laughed playfully. Joan groaned loudly and pulled on his arm swiftly to feed on him. Emile's smile softened, and he relaxed against the chair. Roman came back over to the couch after he loaded the disk into the player and returned to cuddling Deceit. Deceit leaned into Virgil and angled Virgil's head facing down to steal a kiss. Virgil smiled happily into it and Deceit pet Roman's hair in his lap. Patton got up from the table and climbed up the back of the couch to sit behind Virgil on the top of the couch. They started playing with his hair again after freeing it from the lumpy bun.

"Did you want to finish the hairstyle?" Their determination amused Virgil, shifting to let Patton slide their feet into a more comfortable position before leaning back again.

"Yes! It will look amazing," Patton said fervently.

Remy came back out a moment later, tossing a towel on the splashes on the floor. He pulled his clothes back on right after and dragged his foot around the towel to sop up the water and chucked it in the bathroom's direction. Remy walked over to Joan's recliner and lifted Emile right out of Joan's lap. Remy sauntered to the couch, holding on to the out-of-it Emile, and deposited himself on the couch.

"Bring the suffering, girl, let's get some throat-ripping action!" Remy commanded, pointing excitedly to the TV. Roman sat up enough to reach the remote and settled back against Deceit's chest. He lazily lifted his arm and pressed play on the next movie before nestling his face and closing his eyes. Logan pulled back up the blanket and leaned back, looking interested in the new movie. Patton kept braiding as the movie started up, and Virgil sighed happily as he stroked Roman's hair slightly with the arm around Deceit.

This movie was much less eventful in that most of the people in the room were watching it so intensely that the vampires barely moved and the humans mostly shifted nervously. Patton got distracted again from their braiding, but Virgil's hair felt mostly put together when they stopped and held on tight to Virgil's head while they leaned forward. The movie had less suspense than the first movie and more brutality, which was incredibly gratifying. It wasn't so much a _mystery_ as much as it was historians and a greedy person getting slaughtered violently by a vampire. This one might have been by a vampire, it had so much blood and throat-ripping.

Patton buried their face in Virgil's hair after things got intense every time, and they slid down the couch and hid behind Virgil more than halfway through the movie. They made little squeaks of terror and flinched every time there was a loud noise. Logan threw a blanket over Patton and they didn't come back out. Virgil held up his arm and Patton slid into it instantly and grasped it tight, laying on Virgil now and hiding behind the blanket. It was very cute.

Other than noises of disgust, Roman seemed to put up with the movie alright. Logan had that expression he sometimes got while taking notes, and Virgil did not understand how to parse that information. If it meant anything, Virgil had no inkling as to what. But Logan was too invested in whatever way he was and didn't make any tiny noises. Emile was also hiding under a blanket at this point, but he was still watching, his eyes barely peeked out from his safety blanket.

The various vampires, on the other hand, often let out various levels of satisfied hisses and didn't move much. Remy had a deeply contented grin, Joan and Talyn looked absolutely stoked, and Thomas was rigid, but he still had an invested expression. Remy and Virgil had shot each other a few glares and glances and met eyes, but they held their own despite the growing urge again.

Virgil tried to focus on the movie that was extremely tailored to his murder instincts, but he felt his muscles stiffening. They appeared to have it under control, though, and Remy could just tell them if they needed to change something to avoid an event. Though Virgil wasn't sure if Remy _cared_ if they started attacking each other. He was unpredictable. Constantly changing things in seemingly strange ways to alter the future probably gave that impression rather than the reality of it.

Virgil was still tense when the film was finally over. Roman got up with a hop from Deceit's lap, and Deceit looked concerned about Virgil's hard expression while Roman messed with the movie disks.

"Are you doing alright, love?" Deceit asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Virgil hissed and gripped Deceit's shoulder, a little too rough for an affectionate side hug. Deceit didn't seem fazed, at least.

"_Clearly_," Deceit drawled sardonically and rolled his eyes, shoving at Virgil irately.

"Hey, um, is the neck tingling supposed to get worse? Because it feels weird. It feels _weird_, right?" Patton asked softly, no longer shaken from the film and popping their head out from under the blanket. They hadn't watched the last half, so it must have been recovery time from their panic.

"Oh, yeah, it's giving me shivers," Roman nodded in agreement as he put the next disk in the player.

"Hot tub might help," Virgil grunted, barely moving his lips to talk. He stared stoically ahead. The smell in the suite was overwhelming him.

"Oh!" Patton perked up excitedly. "Will you join me, Lo-Lo?" They asked, dropping their blanket shield completely.

"That sounds delightful," Logan nodded and dropped his blanket, then got up from the couch. He offered his hand to Patton and Virgil cautiously released them, trying to keep himself under control. He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself, but that was a bad idea. The smell made Virgil grip at his leg and tear a new hole in his pants with his nails. No more air for him.

"Virgil," Deceit chided with a hard voice. But Virgil was done with breathing, so he didn't respond. He shot a look to Deceit in response and shrugged. "That's ridiculous, just go fight again," He insisted pointedly, shoving at Virgil again.

"I agree. Remington and Virgil need to take it back outside," Emile replied airily, still a little dazed. "You _did _get cut off earlier," He pointed out, lolling his head back.

"I want to fight Deceit!" Talyn suddenly proclaimed and stood from the recliner, rolling their shoulders.

"Alright," Deceit shrugged, letting go of Virgil. Deceit slid his suit jacket off and started rolling up his shirt sleeves. "But no tearing at the suit," He added curtly. Virgil exhaled and looked around nervously. He didn't want a repeat of earlier today.

"Is… is everyone okay with me punching his face in and/or my face getting punched in?" Virgil's tone was acrid with the strain, but he meant it with concern. He was looking specifically at Logan and Patton standing in front of him.

"Kick some ass!" Roman cheered on the couch next to him. "I'm watching," He beamed, heading to the patio door.

"I suppose, though I am not fond of the idea of your face being punched in," Patton crossed their arms and looked displeased but resigned.

"I'll punch where his liver would be if he was human, then," Remy said brightly, getting up and dropping Emile on the couch. Emile giggled as he bounced on the chair from the height Remy dropped him. He cleared his throat and fixed his hair promptly when he saw people staring at him.

"Do you have to?" Patton whined, looking sad and pouting out their lower lip pleadingly.

"That feeling on your neck is going to get worse. Just have a nice time in the hot tub and try to remember they're very hard to hurt and heal quickly," Emile offered consolingly. Patton nodded, still upset, but headed off into one of the bedrooms in the suite. Logan went to the bedroom next to it but paused in the doorway.

"You will be safe?" Logan asked Virgil, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. Virgil was positive if he opened his mouth he would hiss, and he looked to Deceit to answer for him. He didn't want to be rude or scare anyone.

"He will be fine," Deceit reassured him, stretching out his arms. "No gifts and try not to think about your next move or we'll both be bored," Deceit said dryly. Talyn bounced in one spot with delight, looking intense.

"You want to just brawl, babes?" Remy suggested airily, a lazy grin on his face spreading to show his fangs.

"Remington, love, please don't cause property damage. It's not fair, anyway, it would be unmatched even if Thomas sits out," Emile chided him, pointing at him with a disapproving expression.

"Aw, but look at him," Remington pouted. Thomas's foot was tapping up a storm, and he crossed his arms as he sat on the couch with a scowl.

"I'll be better once you two shitheads go punch each other," Thomas hissed, glowering at them. Patton gasped loudly from the room they were in. Virgil didn't quite expect that language from Thomas, either, but was kind of impressed Patton could hear it behind a closed door. He wondered if they had good hearing before getting venom.

"Let's take it outside before things escalate any worse," Deceit pulled Virgil off the couch and started shoving him towards the door to the patio. He was happy to be pushed out of the way because he felt roughly ten seconds from going for Remy's throat if he moved on his own.

As soon as the fresh air hit Virgil's nose he breathed with relief, taking a deep breath of clear air. Virgil rolled his shoulders and neck to stretch out a bit, glad to be able to think again.

"It really was fucking bad in there. We should open the windows," Joan huffed, coming out next behind Virgil. "We should probably scatter after the third movie or Remy and Virgil might go for the neck," Joan said, eyeballing Virgil's exceedingly stiff stance as Talyn came outside with Deceit.

"Sounds nice," Virgil grunted darkly. "Get the fuck out here," Virgil called to Remy. Remy shot out the door and tried to tackle Virgil, but he wasn't having it this time and braced against the tackle just to have the angle to punch him hard as Remy rammed into him. They grappled for a moment and they threw Deceit into Virgil. Deceit pushed off of Virgil instantly and went after Talyn again. Roman cheered as Virgil successfully lifted Remy and threw him behind himself. Remy launched off of something to tackle Virgil from behind that sent Virgil rolling.

Roman jeered as Virgil and Remy tumbled around, Talyn getting launched into them at one point, but Virgil's sole focus on kicking ass without fangs or claws that he longed to use. Remy hissed as Virgil kicked Remy off of him. Joan went flying past for a moment, which confused Virgil, but attacking Remy again was his priority. He felt a powerful blow on Deceit, though, and tossed Remy immediately, launching off to protect Deceit on instinct, landing in front of him and taking a hit from Talyn, who froze as soon as they made contact.

Remy came and tackled Virgil out of the way and they were back at grappling for dominance across the rooftop and over the edge onto which earned a scream from Emile. But Virgil flipped to the building side and managed to throw Remy back up before things got too dicey. Virgil ran up the wall to join him before they attracted any attention.

"Be careful, you fucking idiots!" He heard Joan call as Virgil landed and went for Remy again.

Virgil felt the urge to rip out Remy's throat fade and he could have more fun with it instead of fighting himself with every hit. Remy smirked and landed a hard hit into Virgil's side, so he must have been feeling similarly. They tossed punches, kicks, and each other for another few minutes. Roman cheered on Virgil excitedly, and Thomas applauded Remy in turn. Virgil spun rapidly to slam Remy to the patio by the arm, and Remy barely managed to change gravity polarity in time to avoid ruining the stonework.

"Boo! Kick his ass!" Thomas jeered and Remy used his legs to flip Virgil swiftly onto the ground and they tumbled across the tiles. There was an opening for Remy's throat he nearly took and had to bounce back for a moment.

"What the-" Roman shouted as Virgil bit his own arm, careful not to penetrate his skin, before going back in to attack Remy and landing a punch right in his smug face.

"Having fun?" Remy snarled and swept at Virgil's legs and kicked him while he was down. Virgil twisted and grabbed Remy's leg, causing them to grapple for dominance across the patio once more. "Come on babe, just one bite," Remy hissed and Virgil had to punch him in the face to stop Remy from angling his head to attack.

"I'm not a fucking venom junkie," Virgil snarled, shoving him away with enough force to send him skidding a few feet. Remy dove to bite and Virgil struggled to push him off, opting to roll to dodge instead. Remy went in for another bite, and then there was a bright flash of light out of the corner of Virgil's eye.


	33. White Tiger

When Virgil saw the flash of light, he reacted before he could think and whipped Remy out of the way with all of his strength, taking a fireball right to the chest and then tumbled into the pool to put out the fire caught on his shirt. He splashed into the water and the small flame got extinguished by the pool right away. Virgil's disdain with the situation did not. He didn't bother coming back up out of the water. Virgil sat on the bottom of the pool and rubbed his face in annoyance instead. This day may as well go this way.

'Shit, Virgil, I'm so sorry!' Roman thought at him loud enough that Virgil flinched underwater. He looked up briefly but didn't see anyone through the waves whipping about on the surface.

'I'm fine,' Virgil thought back to Roman and glanced down to survey the damage. There was a large burn mark over the right side of his chest and a singed hole in the shirt. 'Shirt's not. But that's okay,' He thought curtly and just tried to calm down the fight in him. If Remy wanted to get fangy, then they should stop fighting. Hopefully, they fought enough for another two hours of a movie, anyway. But still… Virgil came up out of the water and glared at Remy, who leaned back next to the pool with a nip now, passing down the little thing of vodka. Virgil shook his head and held up his hand to decline the offering.

"You fucking _knew_, didn't you," Virgil narrowed his eyes at Remy as he gripped the side of the pool.

"It was the fastest way for him to figure out how to use them. There's a future where he sets a fire in your dorm room while you're making out. You should thank me," Remy said smugly and twisted the top off of the tiny vodka. Remy downed it in a single gulp and returned the cap.

"You damned bastard," Virgil hissed and glowered at him. Remy just kept that insufferable smile and tossed the bottle behind him to land in the recycling bin against the wall. It clattered loudly into the empty basket while Virgil glared at the son of a bitch.

"Thanks for the save, by the way, I like this jacket," Remy looked down at the hole in Virgil's shirt and wiggled his open jacket with his hand. He got up from the poolside with his face still plastered with that shit-eating grin and headed towards the door.

"Yeah, _yeah_," Virgil rolled his eyes and sank slowly back underwater. He wasn't having this. He needed a break from the bullshit. Virgil sat cross-legged on the floor of the pool and crossed his arms as he hunched over bitterly. They were having a lovely fight, damnit. Then he has to go and get set on fire. Again. Why has this happened multiple times in his life? It makes little sense, statistically. Was Virgil the spiders georg of getting set on fire? Okay, maybe not. But it was still madness, and Virgil wanted to clock Remy right in his stupid face.

'Darling, don't be such a drama queen,' Deceit thought to him. Virgil could make out Deceit standing next to the pool through the shifting water surface above him as he pouted at the bottom of the pool.

'I can be the _exact_ amount of drama queen I want to be,' Virgil thought back bitterly and flipped him off. Deceit held out his cane and dropped the bottom tip just below the surface. Virgil exhaled with a dramatic wad of bubbles from his nose and reached out and swam up to grab it. Deceit yanked his cane up quickly and sent Virgil flying. He landed with a wet slap of water on the patio and scowled at the entire world with his arms still crossed. Deceit came up and gave him a peck on the cheek, careful not to get his suit wet. Virgil fought the urge to give him a big sopping hug out of misplaced spite.

"Thank you, love," Deceit smiled and went back inside to open up the windows. But possibly to clear away in the event Virgil changed his mind about moist hugs, too. It could be two things. Virgil shook off and Roman came up to him, also keeping his distance from the water as Virgil tried to squeeze out his hair.

"Roman, get me your pyjama pants," Virgil huffed to Roman, who paced around the patio madly.

"I'm sorry, Virge," Roman said emphatically, shrinking into himself and putting the hands he was wringing into his pockets.

"It's _fine_, Ro. I'm glad we don't burn down the dorm kissing. It's just hard to switch back to not-murder if I get too into it," Virgil sighed theatrically and headed over to a closet outside, hoping it had towels. His hair was still excessively wet and would probably need multiple towels.

"We would have burnt down the dorm?" Roman asked incredulously, almost impressed with himself. Virgil just shrugged and opened the closet door. He trusted Remy knew what he was doing, as much as it irked him. Remy knew D could out him as a liar right away so there was no point trying to pull one over on them. Remy was old enough to know that. Unless Remy was aiming to make an enemy out of Virgil, but Deceit would have outed that, too. The only sensible rationalization is that Remy was helping in the most annoying manner possible. Which seemed to fit his modus operandi. The patio closet had a machine with heated towels in it, which was bougie as fuck. That was at least nice.

Virgil pulled one out and dropped his shirt and pants in a wet heap behind the open closet door, which gave him a measure of privacy from the giant windows. Roman ran off inside quickly with a bright red face. Virgil rolled his eyes and snickered. He started drying off with the toasty towels. Roman returned while Virgil was trying to dry his hair. Roman held out a pair of joggers around the door. Virgil could feel that Roman was still excessively embarrassed. He chuckled again and slipped on the pants, and Roman scampered off as soon as Virgil took the pants. Virgil threw the towel he was using on one of the patio chairs and grabbed a new one to continue to dry his hair with. He squeezed the water out of his clothes on the ground to take inside after chucking a second towel at the other. He got a final one to wrap his hair up in. The braids really held water.

They headed back inside, and they had already started the third movie. Patton looked a little distressed when he saw the burn mark and scars on Virgil's chest, then even more distressed about Virgil's hair. Their priorities were fantastic. Virgil was tempted to give a sarcastic golf clap for accolades, but that was probably mean spirited.

'You said you wouldn't get hurt! Is that what that feeling was? And what happened to your hair?' Patton thought at them in a swift ramble of thoughts and a desperate expression.

'Well, I didn't expect Roman to launch a _fireball_ at me. Remy was finagling with the futures,' Virgil explained with a small shrug. 'I'll be fine after some blood and time to heal, don't worry about it. I've got way worse scars,' Virgil considered putting back on his jacket, but he had a massive pile of sopping wet hair that would soak it if he tried. He veered into the bathroom for the towel rack.

'Roman! That was you?' Patton's thoughts were so loud they basically screamed in Virgil's head. Roman flinched and his face dropped further as Virgil turned in to hang his clothes.

'I didn't mean to!' Roman held up his hands and shook them in a panicked rejection of blame. Virgil came back out to the living room to join them in watching TV.

'Pat, be nice, if anything it's Remy's fault for riling up Roman,' Virgil chided Patton. He rolled his eyes and went over to the couch to sit down next to Deceit. It really wasn't a big deal, it was just a burn.

Virgil pulled Deceit in closer to him, who was still sans-suit jacket, and enjoyed the feeling of his beautiful boyfriend on his side once more. Deceit looked a little sourly at the scar on the left side of Virgil's chest, and wary of Virgil's wet hair wadded up in a towel, but was happy enough with the couch cuddles. Roman tentatively joined Virgil on the other side, but Virgil just pulled him in, too. No point in being weird about it. Technically, it was Remy's fault, and it wasn't even a big deal. Roman continued to twitch and had a dour expression, though. Patton was probably lecturing him. Deceit also looked more annoyed than usual, which was another sign. That probably meant he should intervene.

'Pat, you're not being mean about an accident over there, are you?' Virgil asked Patton mentally, turning slightly to raise an eyebrow at them.

'I-uh-He _hurt_ you!' Patton thought back, looking sheepish.

'He didn't know how to use them yet. He didn't know it would happen. So he did nothing wrong, okay? I'll be fine. Just enjoy hot tub time with Logan,' Virgil shook his head and looked over to Patton imploringly.

'Fine, okay,' Patton huffed and sank into the hot tub a little. Virgil ruffled Roman's hair and shot him a reassuring smile before looking back to the TV. It was already living up to its promise of being a murder-fest and not that far into the movie, so that was lovely. Virgil settled in with Deceit and Roman on the couch and enjoyed the movie. Talyn looked so excited when a guy got beheaded that he thought they might jump out of the recliner. Their hair was still violently tousled from their fight with Deceit, which was a cute look. Virgil was sad he didn't get to see any of the fight. Talyn's love of violence and Deceit's cool and calculated fighting style would be appealing to watch.

Thomas had to take a snack break when he started getting thirsty from shirtless Logan, and Emile was now giggling at murder along with Joan, which was probably one of the stranger things he'd seen in his life. A guy who looks like the physical incarnation of a teddy bear in a cardigan and sweater vest giggling at a person on the screen getting eviscerated. Deceit looked over and examined Emile for a moment, once again collapsed on top of Remy, and nodded in agreement. Remy looked particularly satisfied, though. He could have dropped his shield to feel Emile being blissed the hell out. Virgil couldn't imagine having the capacity to drop his shield around another clan, even if things were easier to deal with in here. They probably should have opened the windows a while ago, it helped the smell not be so overwhelming.

Logan and Patton got out of the hot tub halfway through the film, and Patton just stayed in their room. Probably avoiding the murder-fest. They had been avoiding watching and listening to it in the hot tub. After Logan came back out, smelling like he had freshly showered, he knocked on Patton's door and had joined them in their bedroom. Perhaps he didn't see the merit in watching the last half of a movie he had missed the first part of either. Roman was passing out, curled up under a blanket with his head on Virgil's lap despite the murder scene, so the fireball must have taken a lot out of him. He had fallen asleep before the end of the show, which Deceit seemed to think was cute. When the movie finished, both Joan and Talyn looked really hyped. They had gathered their things pretty quickly with a sort of manic energy. Joan even threw the DVD at Talyn to put in the case, which seemed unnecessary, but it was cool to watch.

"I had a nice fight, babe," Remy said in a low voice, leaning over Virgil where he sat to talk right in Virgil's face. He looked pleased instead of holier-than-thou, which was a delightful change.

"Me too. Punch you later before we go dancing?" Virgil asked quietly, staying under Roman on the couch as he looked up at Remy.

"Definitely. We'll have to go all out someday to see who would win," Remy smirked and punched into his palm, grinding his fist in.

"My clan would kill me before we could even consider it. We might get away with claws, though," Virgil whispered back and flashed his fangs with a toothy grin. Deceit huffed next to them, looking annoyed.

"Are you going to turn any of these little cupcakes?" Remy asked curiously, pointing at Roman sleeping in Virgil's lap.

"If they want me to. But not during the semester. As funny as newborns in a lecture hall would be. They seem fine with being superhuman right now," Virgil chuckled darkly, petting Roman's hair gently.

"Oh, that sounds like a fucking nightmare. All that fresh blood with the new instincts? Ugh," Remy groaned quietly with a sour look. "Thomathy over there had a really rough time," Remy pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to Thomas and an expression Virgil couldn't parse.

"Let's not," Thomas hissed at them, glaring at Remy.

"We won't," Remy rolled his eyes, standing up straight and slipping his hands into his leather jacket pocket.

"Thanks for movie night, though, it was fun to hang out with other vampires in a swanky hotel room," Thomas smiled, the anger all dropped from his face to something much more satisfied.

"Oh, with extra entertainment from your weird-ass brood? I'd do it again," Joan chuckled quietly, motioning with their head to the bedroom Patton and Logan were in.

"I'd be happy to do this again. I think I can get an actual theater room if I look harder," Virgil offered dismissively. Hopefully, if they did it again, they could figure out something better for Remy and Virgil to settle their instincts with.

"That would be cool," Thomas beamed, looking excited at the prospect. "We'll set up a time and stuff later," He suggested, looking at Joan and Talyn who nodded back at him.

"You're not attempting to plot my downfall from that hit earlier, are you?" Talyn asked firmly, a little out of nowhere. They appeared right next to Remy and got up in Virgil's face.

"… No? I just blocked on instinct. I had kind of already forgotten about it. I did kind of save your alpha from a fireball to the face, so there's obviously no ill will," Virgil raised his eyebrow. This was bizarre.

"Good, killing alphas is _annoying_," Talyn narrowed their eyes. Virgil narrowed them right back at Talyn suspiciously. Virgil and Talyn laughed together after a fake-tense pause. Deceit just rolled his eyes with a small sigh. "I'll find some movies directed by vampires. The murder madness was cool and all, but I liked the Mystery of the Marquis the most," Talyn said thoughtfully.

"That would be delightful," Deceit replied airily. "See you next time," He waved lazily to them.

"Yeah, I'll see you two at practice," Thomas waved as he turned away.

"I'll see you on the moon!" Emile stage whispered, still clearly loopy.

"Thanks for saving our dorm room. Get that airhead home before he hurts himself," Virgil chuckled. "See ya," Virgil nodded to them. Remy smiled knowingly and stuck out his tongue. Virgil did not understand what that was communicating, but the future was probably a weird place. Thomas grinned at them, Joan nodded, Talyn just smiled, and Remy was already dragging Emile off. They all headed out the patio after some quiet goodbyes. Remy grabbed Emile and Thomas again and jumped away, and Joan and Talyn jumped off the roof in a different direction.

"Shall we get this brick into his bed?" Deceit asked quietly, pointing to Roman. Virgil nodded and slowly moved to lift Roman off the couch. He carried Roman while Deceit opened the door to the bedroom he was in earlier and pulled back the covers for him. Virgil tucked Roman in and pressed a tender kiss in Roman's hair after making sure Roman's phone was plugged in.

"How about you come with me, love? I have some pool water to wash out of my hair," Virgil whispered softly into Deceit's ear. Deceit grinned salaciously and grabbed Virgil's hand as they left Roman's room.

"I thought you'd never ask," Deceit replied as he whipped off the towel in Virgil's hair. He pulled Virgil into an unoccupied room by Deceit with a delighted grin.

—? —

Virgil had to send out the hotel concierge for new clothes in the morning. It probably wasn't the strangest request the concierge might have gotten, but certainly paints a picture. Virgil's clothes were still damp, and they smelled terrible despite leaving them to dry in the bathroom. He'd rather wear something that smelled of the factory instead of mildewy pool chemicals. His shoes in particular smelled awful. They weren't ruined and just needed a run through the wash, at least. There was a dry cleaning bag in the bedroom closet he could take his clothes home in. He at least could wear his jacket still. Nothing but a leather jacket and a pair of joggers was perhaps a weird look.

He let Deceit pick the clothes since Virgil wasn't exactly the most brand-savvy and the concierge needed to know specifics to pick up something. Virgil had no idea how Deceit knew his exact measurements, but it was presumably better not to dwell on. It was a blessing since Virgil didn't have to figure all this stuff out himself. There was no way he wasn't coming out gussied up in some way, though. Deceit could dress down, but he'd never skipped a chance to dress Virgil up.

Roman, Patton, and Logan were all still sleeping at eight AM, but Virgil figured it would take the kitchen an hour anyway and placed an order for things he knew his friends would like to eat. Some fruit, toast, a hearty meal for Roman, comforting food for Patton, light on the stomach for Logan, and some juice. And of course, some coffee that was better than the piece of shit machine in the room could make. The beans smelled fine, but the coffee itself came out of the machine smelling like an abomination of man. Virgil dumped the whole pot and tossed the grounds in the planter outside.

Deceit and Virgil reclined on a chaise lounge in the living room together, both on their phones. Virgil happily nestled into Deceit's chest. Deceit periodically rubbed Virgil's back while he worked on his phone. It surprised Virgil to see Logan come out of Patton's room in his pyjamas and head into the one he claimed yesterday evening. Considering this was the one night they didn't have to share a room, it seemed a little unlike Logan to not take advantage of the space. But it was very like Patton to not want to sleep alone. Maybe they just feel asleep while talking, though. They didn't come back out even after all the other vampires left and the 'heebie-jeebies' should have ended for all the humans.

There was a knock at the door, which was either the concierge or room service, so Virgil got up to go answer it. The person who came to deliver it seemed shocked by Virgil's scars for a moment and dropped their eyes. He should have closed up his jacket, but hindsight is 20/20.

"Here are the things you requested, sir," The said and quickly bowed before heading back down the hall. Virgil rolled his eyes when he looked in the bag.

"_Seriously_, D?" Virgil asked incredulously as he looked at the showy mess in the sack.

"They'll all fit, I assure you. I only know high-end brands, love," Deceit smirked and leaned to face him, his face on his fist and looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"I don't need all this," Virgil groaned, shaking the bag at Deceit. "Do I have to put it all on?" He asked tiredly. Either the shoes were huge or there was a lot in the pack.

"I know what you like, you'll adore it," Deceit said confidently. Well, now Virgil was interested. Deceit hummed happily when he saw Virgil's face shift from annoyance to curiosity.

Virgil headed back into the bedroom he and Deceit shared last night to don whatever frou-frou nonsense D wanted to see him in. He did at least like the boots at the bottom of the bag. It had been a while since Virgil had worn dress pants and a button-down. He really did appreciate the corset, too, Deceit had him pinned on that. It all fit perfectly, and he looked put-together enough to be at a wedding or something. Virgil rolled up the sleeves on the dress shirt and adjusted the metallic purple tie to be a little looser before heading back out.

"Lovely, darling," Deceit cooed, sitting up and watching Virgil as he came out of the bedroom.

"I admit I like it," Virgil huffed. "But I don't understand how you pulled this off over the phone," Virgil motioned to the outfit with both hands and an arched eyebrow at Deceit.

"Fashion is just one of my many skills. Show me the back," Deceit spun his finger around and Virgil raised his arms and complied. "Perfect. It's nice to mix up your wardrobe sometimes, right?" He said airily and curled his finger for Virgil to come closer as Virgil faced the front again.

"Whatever," Virgil rolled his eyes and headed over to Deceit. It was, really. It was annoying to have such a small space for clothes storage in the dorms. "Oh, g'morning Logan. I already ordered breakfast," Virgil paused when his eyes landed on Logan coming out of the bedroom. Logan was bright red and immediately retreated into his bedroom again. He dressed in jeans and a soft-looking tee under an open button-down today, instead of his usual polo.

"I'm that good," Deceit smiled smugly and golf clapped for himself. Virgil laughed and came back to lie with Deceit on the chaise lounge.

"Was your goal gay panic?" Virgil laid back on Deceit's arm, and Virgil slid his arm under Deceit's back to cuddle him lazily.

"Yes, the gay agenda was achieved today. Give yourself some winged liner and let's see if we can make Roman's face match his hair," Deceit suggested teasingly with a very self-satisfied smile. Virgil chuckled and shook his head, but he pulled up his phone and changed his makeup, anyway. It was nice that they'd seen each other often lately, and Deceit was still his usual bossy self, and seeing Deceit happy always made Virgil want to spoil Deceit further. He slipped his phone back into the pants pocket. "Did you order a lot of food for Roman? I'd love to have a bite before I leave," He asked after a tranquil moment of nestling close to each other.

"Yeah. Roman loves big breakfasts either way. He burns lots of calories being extra, I suppose," Virgil mused humorously, rubbing a small circle on Deceit's back.

"That I do!" Roman said brightly and walked out into the living room, dressed and looking well-rested. He froze and swallowed when he turned towards Virgil and Deceit. He didn't turn quite as red as his hair, but the pink was fetching, regardless. Deceit made a pleased humming sound and smiled.

"We achieved the gay agenda once more. Come, lay down with us, dear," Deceit waved his hand and Roman blushed a little harder, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"You…" Roman trailed off and rubbed his arm, staring at Virgil.

"I did. Just for fun. I should thank you for the chance to dress him up," Deceit purred happily, reaching over to adjust Virgil's tie.

"If Remy knew this was a result, then I think I might have to thank him again," Virgil chuckled through his nose. "Come on, dingus, get over here already," He motioned with his free hand, scooting to make space for Roman.

"I look so frumpy next to you two!" Roman objected, tugging at the fitted raglan top with the star designs on it he was wearing.

"You look fine, Ro. The shirt fits _really_ well," Virgil said in a low voice. "Come on already, don't make us beg," Virgil pouted at Roman. Roman tossed his arms and groaned dramatically, but complied and came and laid down between them on the chaise lounge. They both slid a little to the side to fit him and took up the whole chair now. Roman looked immensely pleased at the double-shieldless cuddles. Virgil was feeling particularly satisfied himself, and it was an enjoyable feedback loop for once. Roman and Deceit together was a distinct feel than Deceit alone, but it was just as amazing. If he had blood pumping, it was singing in his veins and he felt so alive.

"I thought specs would be awake already," Roman said, looking around the room. "Doesn't he wake up at like six AM or something? It's almost nine," He looked back to Virgil with a confused expression.

"I was surprised you woke up early," Virgil mused and smiled playfully to Roman. "You normally sleep like the dead-adjacent," Deceit chuckled and flicked Virgil in the arm for the poor joke.

"My gay senses must have been tingling," Roman joked mirthfully, grinning to Virgil and ran a finger along the boning of Virgil's corset appreciatively.

"He's awake, by the way, just trying to compose himself," Deceit said genially, still looking kind of smug.

Patton came out of their room a few quiet and comfortable minutes later, yawning and running their hand through their hair while they stretched out. They were dressed in a bright top and a jean skirt and sleepily laid across the three's laps on the chaise. They looked like they were barely awake still, with tired eyes and puffy cheeks.

"Mornin'," Patton smiled sleepily and closed their eyes.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Virgil squeezed their hand briefly.

"Good morrow, Pat," Roman nearly glowed with happiness and shifted to make Patton more comfortable on their laps.

"Good evening," Deceit cooed jokingly, and Patton giggled. Their laugh was cut off by another yawn and they stretched their arms and back once more, still not getting up.

"What're we up to today? Anything fun?" Patton asked, nestling up and reaching out blindly for Virgil's hand again. Virgil took it and they sighed happily.

"Whatever sounds good and doesn't involve sunlight," Virgil shrugged and dropped his head on to Roman's shoulder. There was another knock at the door and Virgil frowned at the idea of getting up. After a moment of annoyed hesitation, he gave in and tapped Patton's thigh to get up off of Virgil.

"Hey," Patton objected with a small pout, but tittered when Virgil pushed at Patton again. They let Virgil get up off the chaise lounge and stole the free spot as soon as Virgil was clear. He rolled his eyes at them, but they only grinned back cheerily. Virgil let in the waiter, who moved in a cart next to the table and bowed before exiting quietly.

"Food for humans," Virgil called to Patton and Roman.

"And coffee for vampires?" Roman asked teasingly, pulling Deceit into a hug before shifting to get up.

"Who do you take me for?" Virgil shrugged sarcastically and walked over to Logan's room and knocked out a short staccato beat on the door. "Hey love, breakfast is here if you want to come out," Virgil informed him through the door.

"I- Thank you, Virgil. I apologize," Logan cleared his throat.

"For what?" Virgil chuckled. Logan opened the door and looked a little sad. "What's wrong?" Virgil asked with concern and stepped in, holding out his arms. Logan shook his head and Virgil dropped them. "Are you okay?" His face drooped, looking at Logan with worry.

"I was apologizing because I failed at open and honest communication," Logan said, fiddling with a bracelet on his left hand.

"I did too. It's all right," Virgil replied consolingly. He still felt bad for scaring them all yesterday.

"I kissed Patton last night. We are dating now, and I realized after the fact that I should have talked to you about it first," Logan told him dourly, staring at the floor.

"Oh, love, it's fine. I've known that Patton's had a crush on you for a while now," Virgil said softly, holding out his hand again. Logan took it tentatively, and Virgil brushed his thumb across it a few times. "Did you both sleep in because you were up late kissing?" Virgil chuckled playfully.

"That is the likely culprit, yes. Patton was feeling brazen after the hot tub, I suppose, and… 'made a move' that I reciprocated," Logan admitted. "I didn't realize Patton was interested, but Patton was certainly clear… and then apologized for pushing my boundaries," Logan blushed as he stared at the floor, still.

"Patton stole a kiss?" Virgil gasped in surprise. "You're okay?" Virgil raised an eyebrow and asked with concern.

"It wasn't unwelcome, just sudden. Patton stopped themselves quickly," Logan said plainly, finally looking up to Virgil. "They apologized so much I had to kiss them to get them to stop," Logan smirked, looking proud of himself and relaxing his stiff posture a bit.

"Aw, payback is a kiss," Virgil purred teasingly. Logan stepped closer, and Virgil hesitated before wrapping an arm around him. Logan stepped in and Virgil held him close. "I appreciate the apology and all, but I'm fine with it. Vampires tend to care more about emotional connections. As long as you don't stop liking me suddenly I'll be fine. I've been around to long to not care about a stolen kiss. I know it's important, though, that's why I told you about the other people I was interested in. I'm just not hurt by you kissing them," Virgil held Logan close and pressed a kiss to Logan's temple.

"I find it odd you haven't asked them out yet," Logan stated curiously. "I would not mind, personally," Logan reached up to return the hug and Virgil relaxed into it.

"It's up to them if they're interested in seeing me in a more romantic manner," Virgil shrugged. Logan just hummed, sounding displeased. "I thought the reaction earlier was about the way Deceit dressed me up this morning, not you being embarrassed that you got caught up kissing Patton," Virgil exhaled humorously, giving Logan a firm hug.

"The outfit contributed," Logan's cheeks turned pink again. "I got a bit worked up when I realized I might have hurt you and then…" He trailed off and his face dropped again.

"Yes, gay panic. It was very flattering," Virgil smirked and kissed Logan's cheek.

"It is a shame there isn't jewelry to go with the style," Logan muttered, pulling away to look at the outfit.

"I knew you had a thing for goths," Virgil snickered to himself for calling it a while back.

"A '_thing_'? Oh, yes. I find the style alluring. I may have dabbled in the fashion myself," Logan pressed his face into Virgil's shoulder and sighed. He seemed relieved and played with the lacing on the back of the corset.

"I'd love to see it sometime," Virgil kissed his head and enjoyed the idea. "Come on, breakfast is going to get cold. I got a few things you might like. If you're free today, we could make some plans for this afternoon while you eat?" Virgil suggested hopefully. He knew everyone else was available and it would be incredible if Logan also could join them and they could spend the day together.

"I suppose I could rearrange my study schedule," Logan muttered, sounding interested as he slowly pulled off of Virgil's shoulder.

"No pressure, Logan. I respect your priorities," Virgil let go of Logan and took his hand instead.

"Thank you for understanding," Logan squeezed Virgil's hand, and they headed out of the bedroom to join the rest.

"Anything for you," Virgil smiled softly to Logan and gripped back.

"Virgil?" Logan paused and looked up to Virgil. Virgil hummed curiously and met Logan's eyes. He looked away quickly and rubbed his head with his free hand. "You may call me by nicknames other than terms of endearment," Logan told him quietly, but grinned brightly to Virgil.

"Ro's going to be so jealous," Virgil snickered and kissed Logan's knuckles before they returned to the table.


End file.
